Zahra Bani facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Personal information
Born	(1979-12-31) 31 December 1979 (age 45) Mogadishu, Somalia
Height	1,73 m
Weight	73 kg
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Javelin throw
Club	G.S. Fiamme Azzurre
Coached by	Maria Marello
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Javelin throw 62.75 m (2005)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd European Throwing Cup 0 0 2 European Team Championships 0 0 3 Mediterranean Games 0 2 0 European Throwing Cup Bronze 2007 Yalta Javelin Throw Bronze 2008 Split Javelin Throw European Team Championships Bronze 2005 Florence Javelin Throw Bronze 2008 Annecy Javelin Throw Bronze 2009 Leiria Javelin Throw Mediterranean Games Silver 2005 Almeria Javelin Throw Silver 2009 Pescara Javelin Throw

Zahra Bani, born on December 31, 1979, is an Italian athlete who specialized in the javelin throw. She was born in Somalia and later moved to Italy, where she became a successful javelin thrower.

About Zahra Bani

Zahra Bani was born in 1979 in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. Her father was Italian, and her mother was Somali. In 1989, when she was about 10 years old, Zahra and her family moved to Torino, Italy.

When she first arrived in Italy, Zahra started playing volleyball. However, she soon discovered her true talent was in javelin throwing. The javelin throw is an athletics event where athletes throw a spear-like object called a javelin as far as they can.

Zahra's best-ever throw, also known as her personal best, was 62.75 meters. She achieved this impressive distance at the World Championships held in Helsinki in 2005. After 2005, she faced some health challenges that made it harder for her to perform at her very best.

Zahra Bani is considered one of Italy's top javelin throwers. She ranks second on the all-time list for Italian javelin throwers, right after Claudia Coslovich. Zahra retired from competing in 2022. Today, she works as a coach in Torino, Italy, helping new athletes learn and improve.

Zahra's Achievements in Athletics

Zahra Bani competed in many important athletics events throughout her career. She represented Italy in various international competitions.

Major Competitions and Medals

Zahra won several medals during her career:

• European Throwing Cup: She earned two bronze medals in this competition, one in 2007 in Yalta and another in 2008 in Split.
• European Team Championships: She also won three bronze medals at the European Team Championships in 2005, 2008, and 2009.
• Mediterranean Games: Zahra achieved two silver medals at the Mediterranean Games, first in 2005 in Almería and again in 2009 in Pescara.

Notable Performances

• 2005 World Championships: This was a big year for Zahra. She placed 5th at the World Championships in Helsinki, where she also set her personal best throw of 62.75 meters.
• Olympic Games: She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, which is the highest level of competition for athletes.

National Championships

Zahra Bani was also a very successful athlete in Italy. She won 17 national championships at the senior level. This means she was the best javelin thrower in Italy many times.

• Italian Athletics Championships: She won the javelin throw title 8 times in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, and 2021.
• Italian Winter Throwing Championships: She won this championship 9 times in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017.

See also

• Italian Athletics Championships - Multi winners
• Italian all-time lists - Javelin throw
• Italy at the European Throwing Cup
• Naturalized athletes of Italy
• Italian Somalians