Giovanni Alessandro Lanaro Mercado (born 27 September 1981 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

former

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

er who is currently the Women's Head Coach at his alma mater, Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC).

Youth and college

Giovanni Lanaro attended West Covina High School in California; Lanaro pole vaulted as a freshman in high school (3.51m) but suffered a back injury as well as a fractured ankle skateboarding that prevented him from vaulting the next three years. He focused on swimming and made the CIF Southern Section Finals, before deciding to give the vault one more try at

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

(Mt. SAC) in

Walnut, CA Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 29,172, and in 2019 the population was estimated at 29,685. The greater Walnut Valley is located bet ...

. In two years at Mt. SAC, Lanaro raised his personal best from 3.51m to 5.30m breaking the college record of 5.21 meters held by Olympic Gold/Silver Medalist,

Bob Seagren Robert Seagren (born October 17, 1946) is a retired American pole vaulter, the 1968 Olympic champion. A native of Pomona, California, Seagren was one of the world's top pole vaulters in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He won six National AAU ...

and Bob Halverson. During his freshman season, he improved his personal best to 5.05m (a 5'00" (1.49m) improvement) taking the California Community College Championship and placing 4th at the 2000 USA Track and Field (USATF) Junior Nationals. In his sophomore season, he surpassed the former record 8-times and capped it off with the 2001 National Community College Title. At Mt. SAC, Lanaro was fortunate to train alongside many top pole vaulters including Olympic Gold Medalist Tim Mack, Canadian Record Holder Rob Pike, Japanese Champions Manabu Yokoyama and Fumiaki Kobayashi. After redshirting after his sophomore season to recover from ankle surgery, Lanaro shunned full-ride scholarship offers from USC, South Carolina, Michigan State and Fresno State to attend little known, but local, Cal State Fullerton. At Cal State Fullerton, under current Mt. SAC Head Men's Coach Ron Kamaka, he earned three NCAA All-American honors and raised his career best to 5.60m.

Professional career

Lanaro finished in joint fourth place at the

2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olimpiyski Sport arena. The announcement by the IA ...

in Moscow, and won the silver medal at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

. He also competed in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, 2008 Summer Olympics, 2005 World Championships and 2007 World Championships. Although he failed to qualify for the final of the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, Lanaro's 2007 campaign was a fabulous one. He jumped 5.70 meters or higher nine times, including three competitions of over 5.80 meters. Along the way he captured a host of competitions titles including the

Mt. SAC Relays The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The Relays are held in mid-April each year since the first edition held on April 24-25, 1 ...

, Road to Eugene,

Reebok Grand Prix The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, United States. First started in 2005 as the Reebok Grand Prix and then Adidas Grand Prix, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events. ...

, Nike

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

and Padua International Athletics Meet. At the Nike Prefontaine Classic, he jumped 5.80 meters in the rain and into a headwind, easily defeating the stellar field, which included all three 2004 Olympic Medalists, the U.S. record holder, the Japanese record holder and the U.S. Champion, by 20 centimeters. His personal best jump of 5.82 metres was achieved in April 2007, at the Mt. SAC Relays, in Walnut. During his professional career he was coached by his Mt. SAC Coach/USA Track and Field Women's Pole Vault Development/High Performance Chairperson, Brian Yokoyama and was represented by super agent, Karen Locke. Lanaro trained mostly by himself without a jumping partner however, throughout the years, he often trained with his close friend, Japanese Olympian and Record Holder Daichi Sawano, during his frequent training trips to California.

Records Held

Mt. San Antonio College Record (5.40M), Mt. SAC Relays Record (5.82m), California State University at Fullerton Record (5.60M), Nishida Cup Record (Indoor 5.65M),

Hilmer Lodge Stadium Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) campus in Walnut, California, is the athletic stadium for the community college. Originally known as Mt. San Antonio College Stadium or Mt. Sac Stadium, the stadium was dedicated on O ...

, Walnut, CA (5.82M), Mexican National Record (5.82M), Central American Record (5.82M) Feb. 16, 2009 equal Area Indoor Record, Stockholm, Sweden (5.71M)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanaro, Giovanni 1981 births Living people Mexican male pole vaulters Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Mt. SAC Mounties men's track and field athletes Olympic athletes for Mexico Mexican people of Italian descent Junior college men's track and field athletes in the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Cal State Fullerton Titans men's track and field athletes 21st-century Mexican people