Italy's Kelly Doualla etched her name into the record books at the Tampere 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships in August.
At just 15 years and 260 days old, she became the youngest ever athlete to win a European U20 gold medal over 100m. She stopped the clock at 11.22 seconds, just 0.01 off her own national U20 record and European U18 best, and then returned to anchor Italy’s women’s 4x100m relay team to gold in a national record of 43.72.
Her joy and disbelief in the moments of victory were clear for everyone to see.
"I've dreamed of this victory"
“I really hoped I could achieve something big,” she said. “And I can say I’ve done it. This was what I had set for myself since the start of the year.
“On the track I was quite calm, at the blocks there was a bit of anxiety, but that was good because it helped me run faster. Without the support of the Italian team I don’t think I could have done it. I’ve dreamed of this victory many times.”
Doualla was born in Pavia, but now trains in Milan, where her rise through Italian athletics has been nothing short of remarkable. This season alone she has set European U18 bests in both the indoor 60m (7.23) and the 100m (11.21), the latter achieved when she claimed gold at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje two weeks prior to Tampere.
And by virtue of a 2009 birthdate, Doualla still has one more year left in the U18 ranks to further improve these records. It means she will also be eligible to compete on home soil at the 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships in Rieti.
Natural speed
“Where does my speed come from? I think it’s natural,” she said. “I’ve always been cheerful, and during training I’ve learned how to increase my effort and download all my energy.”
Her training environment is one of camaraderie and competition. “I’m always training with my teammates, and with the guys we always try to push past our limits by even just a few millimetres. Every weekend in training I tried to go beyond myself.”
Doualla’s inspiration comes close to home. “It would have been impossible without my coach, my father, and my mother,” she said. “Thanks to them, I was able to achieve this big success.”
Her coach, Walter Monti, has also been quick to shield his young star from overexposure in her still tender years of her development.
Despite her sensational Tampere 2025 performance, he has already confirmed she will not be competing in Tokyo at the World Athletics Championships, ruling her out of Italy’s 4x100m squad to preserve her longer-term future.
Inspired by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Her mother, meanwhile, has always been a fan of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the Jamaican sprint legend who owns three Olympic gold medals and ten world titles.
Fraser-Pryce has gone viral earlier this year for taking part in the parent’s races at her son’s school sports day. But it is an occasion that Doualla will not be competing at anymore.
"Before this, I competed with my schoolmates when I was little. Not anymore now, to avoid injuries. But back then, with my school friends, it was all love for the sport,” she smiles.
Away from the track, Doualla is a typical teenager: “I was with my friends, listening to music, even checking the ocean webcams,” she recalled of her pre-race downtime in Tampere. But the moment the starter’s gun fires, she transforms into a world-class competitor.
She is also quick to credit others for her success: “I want to thank my teammates who helped me during training, and my parents, who always followed and supported me until I reached this moment.
“My coach Walter Monti also deserves it, for all the work he has put in. It was born thanks to him and to my training partners, who have always encouraged me.”
At an age when most of her peers are still navigating school competitions, Doualla has become the standard-bearer for Italian sprinting on the continental stage. Her two gold medals in Tampere confirm her as one of Europe’s brightest young talents.
“For the future I want to keep going this way,” she said, “improving more and more.”
