Simona La Mantia (born 14 April 1983 in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

) is an Italian

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

er. Her best result at international senior level was a gold medal at the 2011 European Indoor Championships.

Biography

La Mantia's parents were both athletes: her mother Monica Mutschlechner was an

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

runner while her father Antonino La Mantia participated in the

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

. Her first successes came the

European Athletics U23 Championships The European Athletics U23 Championships is a biennial athletics competition for European athletes under the age of 23, which is organized by the European Athletic Association. The oldest of the 'age-group' track and field events held by Europe ...

, where she won silver in the triple jump in 2003, and improved to win the gold medal in 2005. She represented Italy at 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), ...

and the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

. In the

, she achieved seventh place in the qualification round, failing to secure qualification to the final. The exact same thing happened at the 2005 World Championships. She struggled with injuries over the following years but regained form in May 2010, jumping over 14 metres for the first time in four years. That year she also won a silver medal at the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Cat ...

followed by a win in the triple jump at the

2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011. 577 athletes representing 46 countries competed at the championships. Twenty-six track and field events we ...

. Since then she has competed at the 2013 World Championships and won the bronze medal at the 2013 European Indoor Championships. Her personal best jump is 14.69 metres, achieved in May 2005 in her hometown Palermo. In addition she has 6.48 m in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. On 6 October 2012 she married Alessandro Tazzini.

Achievements

National titles

Simona La Mantia has won the individual

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

12 times. *6 wins in the

(2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012) *6 wins in the triple jump indoor (2004, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:La Mantia, Simona 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Palermo Italian female triple jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Italy Athletics competitors of Fiamme Gialle European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Italy Athletes (track and field) at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for Italy

Biography

Achievements

National titles

See also

References

External links