At just over 21 years old, Larissa Iapichino is already considered one of the greats of world athletics, and sport has been in her destiny since she was little.
In fact, her parents are Fiona May, two-time world champion and two-time silver medalist at the Olympic Games in the long jump, and Gianni Iapichino, former record holder and multiple Italian pole vault and decathlon champion, as well as her coach. her.
Born in July 2002, she has been in the spotlight since she was a child thanks also to a well-known television commercial. Initially Larissa did not want to practice athletics, in fact for 8 years she dedicated herself to artistic gymnastics. Her turning point came in 2015 when she attended the Monte Carlo meeting live, and she immediately fell in love with athletics.
And Larissa’s talent was immediately clear to everyone, as she holds all indoor and outdoor Long Jump records in the youth categories.
2019 is the year of his first success at an international level: at just 17 years old, during the 2019 Italian pupil championships in Agropoli, he recorded a measurement of 6.64 m in the long jump, the new best Italian Under 18 performance. A performance validated from gold at the Under 20 European Championships in Boras (Sweden).
In 2020 she set the new U20 and U23 outdoor record of 6.80, the fourth junior ever in the world in her first year in the category.
In 2021 she makes her the U20 indoor World Record, with 6.91m a historic record that belonged to Heike Drechslel for 35 years.
In 2023 Larissa achieved silver at the European Championships in Istanbul with 6.97m, first overall medal and absolute Italian Indoor record.
Also this season Larissa became U23 European Champion with 6.93m, she won three stages of the Diamond League (Golden Gala in Florence, Stockholm and Monte Carlo), also establishing her personal outdoor record with 6.95m.
Finally, she placed fifth in the overall World Championships in Budapest.
In 2024, Larissa Iapichino wins silver at the European Championships in Rome with a jump of 6.94m and reaches her first Olympic final, ultimately finishing fourth in Paris.
She ends the season on a high note by winning the Diamond League final in Brussels, becoming the first Italian woman in history to do so.
