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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Jaya Saxena

‘I eat pasta almost every day’: a day in the life of a world champion pizza athlete

a graphic of a man spinning pizza
‘Freestyle pizza is my passion. It is linked to my work, but has given me the nicest joys of my life.’ Composite: Marta Martinez/Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images

Francis Tolu is a freestyle pizza champion. For those who don’t know what that is, he uses pizza dough to compete in acrobatic performances. He can make pizza blindfolded; he also throws pizzas in the air and sets them on fire. Among his achievements are the 2026 masters acrobatics title at the World Pizza Games, and four wins at the Pizza world championship.

Then he returns to work, serving customers at Pizzeria Venezia in Alginet, Spain, the restaurant his family has owned for 40 years.

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