kids encyclopedia robot

Antonietta Di Martino facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Antonietta Di Martino Berlin 2010.jpg
Di Martino in a G.S. Fiamme Gialle jersey.
Quick facts for kids
Personal information
Born (1978-06-01) 1 June 1978 (age 47)
Cava de' Tirreni, Italy
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)
  • High jump: 2.04 m (2011)
  • Heptathlon: 5542 (2001)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships 0 1 2
World Indoor Championships 0 1 0
European Indoor Championships 1 1 0
Mediterranean Games 1 0 0
European Cup (Super League) 1 1 1
World Championships
Silver 2007 Osaka High jump
Bronze 2009 Berlin High jump
Bronze 2011 Daegu High jump
World Indoor Championships
Silver 2012 Istanbul High jump
European Indoor Championships
Gold 2011 Paris High jump
Silver 2007 Birmingham High jump
European Cup
Gold 2010 Bergen High jump
Silver 2008 Annecy High jump
Bronze 2009 Leiria High jump
Mediterranean Games
Gold 2009 Pescara High jump

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.

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)

Di Martino ISTAF Berlino 2010
Di Martino in action at ISTAF (2010)

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 (Italy Milan, 24 June 2007 and Japan Osaka, 2 September 2007) - current holder
  • High jump indoor: 2.04 m (Slovakia Banská Bystrica, 9 February 2009) - current holder

Achievements

Osaka07 D9A Antonietta di Martino
Di Martino celebrates her silver medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka
2012 IAAF World Indoor by Mardetanha3186
The podium of 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul

Antonietta Di Martino made 12 career jumps over 2.00 m (bolded in the table).

Year Competition Venue Position Event Measure Note
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 Sport records icon NR.svg
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
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 Sport records icon NR.svg
Bislett Games Oslo, Norway 6th High jump 1,90 m
European Cup (first league) Milan, Italy 1st High jump 2,03 m Sport records icon NR.svg
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 Sport records icon NR.svg
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.

High Jump Differentials

Antonietta Di Martino (ITA) (3854958089)
Antonietta Di Martino at the 2009 World Championships high jump final.

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.
1 Italy Antonietta Di Martino 1978 1.69 2.04i 2011 0.35
2 Sweden Kajsa Bergqvist 1976 1.75 2.08i 2006 0.33
Greece Niki Bakoyianni 1968 1.70 2.03 1998
4 United States Yolanda Henry 1964 1.68 2.00i 1990 0.32
Bulgaria Emilia Dragieva 1965 1.68 2.00i 1987
6 France Marie Collonvillé 1973 1.63 1.94 1997 0.31

See Also

Kids robot.svg 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
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Antonietta Di Martino Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.