Antonietta Di Martino facts for kids
![]() Di Martino in a G.S. Fiamme Gialle jersey.
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Quick facts for kids Personal information |
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Born | Cava de' Tirreni, Italy |
1 June 1978 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.69 m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 57 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | High jump | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | G.S. Fiamme Gialle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) |
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Medal record
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Antonietta Di Martino (born 1 June 1978) is a retired Italian high jumper. She is famous for holding the Italian national women's high jump record. Her best outdoor jump was 2.03 metres, and her best indoor jump was 2.04 metres.
Antonietta also holds a special record. She has the highest "jump-differential" for women. This means she jumped 0.35 metres higher than her own height! She is 1.69 metres tall, so jumping 2.04 metres is very impressive.
Her first big international win was a silver medal at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham. Later that year, she won another silver medal at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka. After the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she faced some challenges. But she came back strong! She won her first gold medal at the 2011 European Indoor Championships in Athletics in Paris. She also earned a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu. In 2012, she added another silver medal at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
Contents
Biography
Early Years in Athletics (1990–2001)
Antonietta Di Martino was born in Cava de' Tirreni, Italy. She started her journey in athletics when she was 12 years old. This was during the Youth Games. Interestingly, high jump was not her first sport. For many years, she tried different events. She even practiced the javelin throw.
She also competed in the heptathlon. This is a competition with seven different events. She joined the national team for heptathlon in 2001.
First Big Jumps (2001–2006)
Antonietta's talent for high jump became clear in July 2001. This was at the Italian Athletics Championships in Catania. She jumped 1.98 metres, which was a big improvement for her. It also matched the best jump of another great Italian high-jumper, Antonella Bevilacqua.
A month later, she reached the world finals. She finished twelfth at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics in Edmonton. In 2006, she placed fifth at the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Moscow. She also finished tenth at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.
A Golden Year: 2007
In February 2007, Antonietta made a huge jump. She cleared 2.00 metres in Banská Bystrica. This broke Sara Simeoni's old Italian indoor record of 1.98 metres. She then won a silver medal at the 2007 European Indoor Championships. There, she jumped 1.96 metres.
Di Martino also won a silver medal at the 2007 World Championships. She jumped 2.03 metres. Her 2008 season was not as good. She finished tenth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She also had a serious toe injury. This made her think about stopping the sport.
Her Comeback (2009–2012)
In September 2009, Antonietta got a new coach. Her performance quickly improved. She won the Italian Indoor Championships. However, she got sick and could not compete in the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
She earned a bronze at the 2009 European Team Championships. Soon after, she beat the famous high jumper Blanka Vlašić. This was at the Golden Gala meeting in Rome, where she jumped 2.00 metres. She jumped 1.99 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. This secured her a fourth-place finish. She ended the year with a bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final.
Antonietta Di Martino won a gold medal at the 2010 European Team Championships. But she did not pass the qualifying round at the 2010 European Athletics Championships. She bounced back at the start of 2011. She set a new Italian indoor record of 2.04 metres in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. She continued her great form in March. She won the European Indoor Championship in Paris with a jump of 2.01 metres.
Records and Special Achievements
Antonietta's best outdoor jump was 2.03 metres. She achieved this on 24 June 2007, in Milan. This broke her own Italian record of 2.02 metres. Her best indoor jump was 2.04 metres. This happened at a high jump meeting in Slovakia on 9 February 2011. It was a new national record.
Antonietta is only 1.69 metres tall. Her jump of 2.04 metres is an unofficial world record. It is the highest jump over an athlete's own height (35 cm). Di Martino also used to compete in the heptathlon. Her best score in that event was 5542 points in 2001.
Missing the 2012 Summer Olympics
Antonietta Di Martino got a knee injury in April 2012. This was just four months before the Olympic Games. She had to stop training for a while. At first, the Italian Athletics Federation thought the injury was minor. They said she would need only three weeks of recovery.
But less than a month before the Olympics, they found out the injury was much more serious. She needed surgery, which meant she could not go to London. Her knee surgery happened just a few days before the high jump event at the Olympics. It was a very tough time for her.
National Records
Antonietta Di Martino holds these Italian national records:
- High jump outdoor: 2.03 m (
Milan, 24 June 2007 and
Osaka, 2 September 2007) - current holder
- High jump indoor: 2.04 m (
Banská Bystrica, 9 February 2009) - current holder
Achievements

Antonietta Di Martino made 12 career jumps over 2.00 m (bolded in the table).
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Measure | Note |
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2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 12th | High jump | 1,85 m | |
2006 | World Indoor Championships | Moscow, Russia | 5th | High jump | 1,96 m | |
European Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 10th | High jump | 1,92 m | ||
2007 | European Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 2nd | High jump | 1,96 m | |
World Championships | Ozaka, Japan | 2nd | High jump | 2,03 m | ![]() |
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2008 | World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 10th | High jump | 1,93 m | |
European Cup | Annecy, France | 2nd | High jump | 1,95 m | ||
Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 7th | High jump | 1.93 m | ||
2009 | European Team Championships | Leiria, Portugal | 3d | High jump | 2,00 m | |
Mediterranean Games | Pescara, Italy | 1st | High jump | 1,97 m | ||
World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 3rd | High jump | 1,99 m | ||
2010 | European Team Championships | Bergen, Norway | 1st | High jump | 2,00 m | |
Diamond League | 2nd | High jump | details | |||
2011 | European Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 1st | High jump | 2,01 m | |
World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 3d | High jump | 2,00 m | ||
2012 | World Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 2nd | High jump | 1,95 m |
Other Competitions and Championships
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Measure | Note |
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2006 | British Grand Prix | Gateshead, United Kingdom | 3rd | High jump | 1,94 m | |
Golden Gala | Rome, Italy | 11th | High jump | 1,80 m | ||
Memorial Van Damme | Brussels, Belgium | 5th | High jump | 1,95 m | ||
2007 | Europa SC High Jump | Banská Bystrica, Slovakia | 2nd | High jump | 2,00 m | |
Memorial Primo Nebiolo | Turin, Italy | 1st | High jump | 2,02 m | ![]() |
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Bislett Games | Oslo, Norway | 6th | High jump | 1,90 m | ||
European Cup (first league) | Milan, Italy | 1st | High jump | 2,03 m | ![]() |
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IAAF World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 2nd | High jump | 1,97 m | ||
2009 | Golden Gala | Rome, Italy | 1st | High jump | 2,00 m | |
IAAF World Athletics Final | Thessaloniki, Greece | 3rd | High jump | 1,97 m | ||
2010 | Golden Gala | Rome, Italy | 2nd | High jump | 1,95 m | |
Italian Athletics Championships | Grosseto, Italy | 1st | High jump | 2,01 m | ||
2011 | Europa SC High Jump | Banská Bystrica, Slovakia | 1st | High jump | 2,04 m | ![]() |
Spanish Athletics Championships | Málaga, Spain | 1st | High jump | 2,00 m | ||
Rieti Meeting | Rieti, Italy | 1st | High jump | 1,96 m |
National Championships
Antonietta Di Martino has won the individual national championship 10 times.
- 6 wins in High jump outdoor (2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010)
- 4 wins in High jump indoor (2003, 2006, 2007, 2009)
Progression
Antonietta Di Martino was ranked in the top 25 high jumpers in the world 15 times during her career. Her indoor jump of 2.04 metres is also the 8th best performance of all time.
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High Jump Differentials
This table shows athletes who have jumped the highest above their own height. Antonietta Di Martino holds the top spot!
Athlete | Born | Tall | Jump | Year | Diff. | |
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1 | ![]() |
1978 | 1.69 | 2.04i | 2011 | 0.35 |
2 | ![]() |
1976 | 1.75 | 2.08i | 2006 | 0.33 |
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1968 | 1.70 | 2.03 | 1998 | ||
4 | ![]() |
1964 | 1.68 | 2.00i | 1990 | 0.32 |
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1965 | 1.68 | 2.00i | 1987 | ||
6 | ![]() |
1973 | 1.63 | 1.94 | 1997 | 0.31 |
See Also
In Spanish: Antonietta Di Martino para niños
- Female two metres club
- Italian all-time top lists - High jump
- Italian records in athletics
- Women's high jump Italian record progression
- Women's high jump winners of Italian Athletics Championships