His personal best time was 1:43.88 minutes, achieved in June 1984 in Florence.[3] In the 400 metres he had 45.73 seconds, achieved in June 1984 in Milan.[4]
Donato Sabia died on 7 April 2020, in San Carlo Hospital, in Potenza, from COVID-19, having on 31 March 2020 also lost his father to the same disease.[5] He was 56.