Sara Simeoni (born 19 April 1953) is an Italian former high jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics and twice set a world record in the women's high jump.
Biography Sara Simeoni was born in Rivoli Veronese, in the province of Verona. She soon took up athletics, specialising in the high jump. Her first international result was at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki, where she ended 9th with a 178 cm jump. Her first international success was at the 1976 in Montreal, where she won a silver medal, with a personal best of 1.91 m, and was beaten only by Rosemarie Ackermann's 1.93 m leap.
In August 1978, she set the new world record with 2.01 m in Brescia (this jump stood as a national record until Antonietta Di Martino jumped 2.02 in June 2007). Later in the same month she equalled it at Prague while winning the European title. In 1980, Simeoni set a new Olympic record of 1.97 m, when winning gold in Moscow. Simeoni was the only woman athlete not from a Communist country able to win an athletics gold medal in Moscow.
Simeoni struggled to regain her form in the following years, with a series of tendon injuries. At the 1984 Olympics, Simeoni carried the Italian flag at the opening ceremony in Los Angeles. Here, she cemented her reputation as one of the greatest female high jumpers ever, in a thrilling duel with West German Ulrike Meyfarth. Simeoni managed to reach the 2 meters measure for the first time since 1978. Meyfarth, however, replied with a notable 2.02 m jump, and Simeoni won a silver medal.
Simeoni's other titles include two bronze medals at the European Championships and 25 national titles. Her jump of 2.01 m was the Italian record for women for 29 years. On 8 June 2007, Antonietta Di Martino jumped 2.02 m, establishing the new Italian record for women.
Sara Simeoni is widely considered one of the best Italian female athletes ever. She is married to her coach Erminio Azzaro. Their son Roberto Azzaro is also a high jumper.Roberto Azzaro. iaaf.org
Achievements 1970European Junior ChampionshipsColombes, France5th1.70 m1971European Championships Helsinki, Finland9th1.78 mMediterranean Games İzmir, Turkey 2nd1.74 m1972Olympic Games Munich, West Germany6th1.85 m1973European Indoor Championships Rotterdam, Netherlands9th1.82 mUniversiade Moscow, Soviet Union 3rd1.81 m1974European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden11th1.75 mEuropean Championships Rome, Italy 3rd1.89 m1975European Indoor Championships Katowice, Poland4th1.80 mMediterranean Games Algiers, Algeria 1st1.89 mUniversiade Rome, Italy 2nd1.88 m1976Olympic Games Montreal, Canada 2nd1.91 m1977European Indoor Championships San Sebastián, Spain 1st1.92 mUniversiade Sofia, Bulgaria 1st1.92 mWorld Cup Düsseldorf, West Germany 2nd1.92 m11978European Indoor Championships Milan, Italy 1st1.94 mEuropean Championships Prague, Czechoslovakia 1st2.01 m1979World Cup Montreal, Canada 2nd1.94 m1Universiade Mexico City, Mexico 3rd1.92 mMediterranean Games Split, Yugoslavia 1st1.98 m1980European Indoor Championships Sindelfingen, West Germany 1st1.95 mOlympic Games Moscow, Soviet Union 1st1.97 m1981European Indoor Championships Grenoble, France 1st1.97 mUniversiade Bucharest, Romania 1st1.96 m1982European ChampionshipsAthens, Greece 3rd1.97 m1983World Championships Helsinki, Finland19th (q)1.84 m1984Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States2nd2.00 m1986European ChampionshipsStuttgart, West Germany13th (q)1.86 m 1Representing Europe
National titles She won 25 national championships at individual senior level.
Italian Athletics Championships High jump: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985 (14) Pentathlon: 1972 (1) Italian Indoor Athletics Championships High jump: 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1986 (10)
See also Female two metres club Women's high jump world record progression Women with most medals in high jump Italian sportswomen multiple medalists at Olympics and World Championships FIDAL Hall of Fame Italy national athletics team – Multiple medalists Italian all-time lists – High jump
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