[1] He cleared the 17-metre mark for the first time in June 2000 at the Notturna di Milano meeting – his mark of 17.60 m was a significant personal best and also improved Paolo Camossi's Italian record by 31 centimetres.

[4] In 2001 he finished sixth at the 2001 World Indoor Championships and won the gold medal at the 2001 Mediterranean Games.

In 2006 he experienced an improvement with 17.33 metres indoor (Ancona, February) and 17.24 metres outdoor (Turin, July), but failed to reach the final at both the 2006 World Indoor Championships and the 2006 European Championships.

He did however win the European Cup Super League meeting in June, reaching 16.99 metres.

He finished fourth in the final at the 2008 World Indoor Championships with a mark of 17.27 metres, but after with Fabio Martella he won the gold medal at the 2009 European Indoor Championships with a mark of 17.59 metres.

[1] At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he jumped 17.48 metres to win the bronze medal.