Boardman’s Mannozzi places sixth at USA outdoor meet

Staff report

Boardman

Michael Mannozzi of Boardman made it two out of two.

After having qualified in April for the 2012 Olympic trials in the 50k race walking event, the 25-year-old added a 20k trials berth to his credit during the USA Track and Field Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Ore., late last month.

Mannozzi — a.k.a. The Italian Stallion — finished with a personal-record 1:34.40 (one hour, 34 minutes).

Starting second to last, Mannozzi passed over half the field to finish sixth. He represents the Miami Valley Track Club out of the Dayton area.

His Top-8 finish earned him All-American honors at the elite level.

On July 9, Mannozzi won the USA 5k race walk club national title at the U.S. Track and Field club championships in New York City. With a time of 22:30.17, Mannozzi edged out second-place Mathew Boyles who finished in 22:30.99.

Boyles was also the runnerup in both the 20k and 50k during the 2008 Olympic Trials.

The 50k distance is 31 miles; 20k is 12.4 miles.