Fiona May (born 12 December 1969) is a retired track and field athlete who competed for the United Kingdom and later Italy in the long jump. She won the World Championships twice and two Olympic silver medals. Her personal best jump was 7.11 metres, which was her silver medal result at the 1998 European Championships.
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Italian |
| Born | 12 December 1969 Slough, England |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Italy |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Long jump |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best | 7.11 m (1998)  |
Medal record | |
Career
She also competed briefly in the triple jump, and her career best of 14.65 metres from 1998 was good enough to place fifth in the world that season.[1] May originally competed for Great Britain, but became an Italian citizen upon her marriage to her coach Gianni Iapichino in 1994. May missed the whole 2002 season as a result of her pregnancy and childbirth. Her last significant competition was the 2005 World Championships, where she failed to reach the final.[2] May and Iapichino were married until 2011.
Born in Slough and raised in Derby, May attended Leeds Trinity & All Saints College,[3] a college affiliated with the University of Leeds, studying economics, business management and administration. In 2006, she retired from competitions and started a new successful career in show business. After some modelling, she became the spokeswoman of the Kinder snacks and she won the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars in 2006. Later that year her acting debut was broadcast on Rai Uno as the protagonist of Butta la luna, a miniseries about racism and social integration.[4]
Other ventures
In 2019, Fiona May become the testimonial of the Italian Salesians of Don Bosco's missions in Africa and particularly of their Ethiopian activities for baby mamas.[5][6]
Family
May's parents are Jamaican,[7] and she is also rugby player Marcel Garvey's cousin. In 1994, she married her coach Gianni Iapichino, a former pole vaulter whose best achievements were a fifth and sixth place at the European Indoor Championships in 1992 and 1994;[8] she gave birth to their daughter Larissa in 2002. Larissa is following her parents' footsteps, winning the Italian and European titles for the 300 metres hurdles[9] and the long jump silver medal at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.[10]
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Great Britain and  England | ||||
| 1986 | World Junior Championships | Athens, Greece | 8th | 6.11 m |
| 1987 | European Junior Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 6.64 m w |
| 1988 | World Junior Championships | Sudbury, Canada | 1st | 6.88 m w (wind: +2.1 m/s) |
| Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 6th | 6.62 m | |
| 1990 | Commonwealth Games | Auckland, New Zealand | 3rd | 6.55 m |
| European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 7th | 6.77 m (wind: +1.3 m/s) | |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 19th (q) | 6.54 m |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | — | NM |
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 14th (q) | 6.42 m |
Representing  Italy | ||||
| 1994 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 3rd | 6.90 m (wind: -0.7 m/s) |
| 1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 1st | 6.98 m w |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 2nd | 7.02 m |
| IAAF Grand Prix Final | Milan, Italy | 3rd | 6.86 m | |
| 1997 | World Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 1st | 6.86 m |
| World Championships | Athens, Greece | 3rd | 6.91 m | |
| 1998 | European Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 1st | 6.91 m |
| European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 7.11 m | |
| 1999 | World Championships | Sevilla, Spain | 2nd | 6.94 m |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 2nd | 6.92 m |
| 2001 | World Indoor Championships | Lisbon, Portugal | 4th | 6.87 m |
| World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 1st | 7.02 m w | |
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 9th | 6.46 m |
| 2004 | World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 6th | 6.64 m |
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 28th (q) | 6.38 m | |
| 2005 | Mediterranean Games | Almería, Spain | 1st | 6.64 m |
See also
References
External links
- Fiona May at World Athletics
- Fiona May at the Italian Athletics Federation (in Italian)
- Fiona May at Olympics.com
- Fiona May at Olympedia
- Fiona May at the Italian National Olympic Committee (in Italian)
- Fiona May at Team GB
- Fiona May at IMDb
