Former javelin champion from Moncton competes on world stage at 70
Giovanni Corazza wants others to know it's never too late to get fit
One of Moncton's lesser-known gyms sits in the back of a commercial building on Mark Avenue.
Giovanni Corazza converted a one-car garage into what he calls Rosa's Gym. It has a single squat-rack, a basket of weighted medicine balls and bright yellow javelin poles.
It's where Corazza, a former Olympic javelin thrower, has spent most of his time since he retired from his career as a construction project manager in 2022.
And it's where at 70 years of age, he trained for his first competition in 44 years.
With the power of a teenager, he could press well over 100 pounds above his head.
That power that made him a fearsome competitor at this year's World Masters Athletics Championship in Sweden.
The championship, held around the world every two years, welcomes competitors over the age of 35 who want to prove that age is just a number and that passion for sport only fades if you let it.
When Corazza retired, he saw it as an opportunity to dust off his javelin and start training.
"I figured, why not try it — and I did."
Earlier in August, he headed to Sweden with his son and his former javelin coach.
Alessandro, Corazza's son, was on the field with him at the competition. To him, his dad embodied the expression of "my dad is stronger than your dad" on that day.
"Line him up against the other guys there and he was pretty ... jacked compared to the other guys," he said, laughing. "My dad is actually pretty cool."
Corazza finished the world event with an impressive 6th place finish.
Reflecting on his time among other athletes his age and younger, he said he felt like he belonged there.
But what makes the feat even more impressive is that the last time Corazza competed was 44 years earlier, an experience that, at the age of 26, gave him best summer of his athletic career.
The boycotted games
By 1980, Corazza had cemented his place as the greatest javelin thrower in Canada. He was going to represent his country at the Moscow Olympics.
Until he couldn't, when "Canada and 62 other countries decided to boycott the Moscow Olympics," Corazza said.
Canada, along with the United States, Germany and other countries, did not attend the games in protest of Russia's invasion of Afghanistan.
"This was a big disappointment for all of us who had worked hard."
Along with other Canadian athletes, Corazza made his way to alternate games held in Dusseldorf, Germany.
One of Germany's very own was highly favoured for the meet, Corazza said. When his turn came to throw, he walked out in front of a bench full of some of the fittest men on earth.
"I was nervous and I figured ... I'm not top seed here. I'm going to go for it," he said. On his first throw, he landed a personal best of 82 metres.
"The whole lot of them, they shot up from the bench like a rocket. I won the meet and walked away with two personal bests on that particular day."
The next day, he flew to London and won again. Then he did the same in Oslo, Norway.
Corazza earned three gold medals and a best-ever performance with a 84.34-metre throw. That year, it ranked as Canada's third all-time best.
To this day, he recalls the thrill of onlookers watching a Moncton man win world titles so far from home.
Shortly after the alternate games, Corazza retired to begin his working life and start a family.
"To finish a career on a high and having fulfilled my objectives, which I felt I did, was the right decision then," he said. "And many years later I can tell you I never regretted that decision."
Corazza's son said he is proud of what his father has accomplished.
"From back in the day, having reached the level that he did and then to pick it up again, I don't know that a lot of people would do that," he said.
While Corazza said he has not committed to competing again, he said he may help coach the next generation of javelin throwers.
"When I traded in my pencil for an Olympic bar two years ago, it was a shock," he said about his choice to retire. "But I persevered and, to a certain extent, I conquered this self-perceived weakness that I had when I retired."
It's a message he hopes will inspire others.
"It's not about going to compete in a world championship, it's about feeling good about yourself."
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