Filippo Dezza was turning heads at the European Athletics Championships — and not just for his blazing speed in the 200 meters.
When the 20-year-old took to the track Thursday for his Italian national team debut, he came out sporting one of the most bizarre ‘dos Birmingham had ever seen.
He had an X shaved into his hair, running from the middle of his forehead to the back of his skull in one direction and from ear to ear in the other.
Luckily, BBC commentators had the inside scoop on what had happened and it was no mistake.
“There is a tradition in the Italian squad that on your debut on the men’s side, they like to shave a chunk out of your hair,” the commentator explained, according to The Sun.
“If you ever see an Italian lined up in a major championships with a chunk of hair out of their head, they haven’t done it themselves.”
The national champion sprinter put the full blame for the new crop on national team captain Gianmarco Tamberi.
“It’s a bit of a rookie initiation ritual,” Dezza said. “So before coming here, I said, ‘It’s my absolute first national team call-up, let’s enjoy it. I’m doing the individual race too, who cares, it’s all good.’
“In fact, right when I recited the oath, I was there with the other rookies and I told Tamberi, ‘Look, do whatever you want, I don’t care, it grows back, let’s just enjoy it.’ And so, they did.
“Soon I’ll have to get another haircut, I think I’ll just go fully shaved. And let’s hope it brings a bit of luck.
“I’ll definitely have less drag/air resistance in the race, that’s for sure. And let’s hope there’s a little bit of a favorable tailwind.”
And luck it brought, as Dezza won his heat with a blazing time of 20.60 seconds.
He improved upon that with a 20.35 mark in the semifinals, good for third place in the heat to book a trip to Friday’s 200-meter final.
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