Larissa
Iapichino
Italy
·
Athletics
Date of birth | 18 July 2002 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Borgo San Lorenzo |
Age | 23 |
Nationality | Italy |
Career start | 2018 |
Disciplines | Long Jump |
Larissa is considered one of Italy’s most promising athletes and has shown this natural talent from the very beginning.
Larissa's parents are world beaters in their own sports, with her father Gianni Iapichino the Italian record holder and multiple champion in pole vaulting, while her mother Fiona May was twice world champion in the long jump.
Born in 2002, Larissa immediately became used to the limelight after starring in a TV ad alongside her mother. Her introduction to sport started with eight years of gymnastics, but her love for track and field began when she watched an athletics meeting in Monte Carlo in 2015.
Larissa’s talent for long jump immediately became clear, and at the 2019 Italian Junior Championships in Agropoli she set a record jump of 6.64m. It was a best new Italian performance at Under 18 and Under 20, and the world's second best performance at Under 20 for the year. That jump also took her into Italian Top 10 at senior level.
At the 2019 U20 European Championships in Sweden, Larissa’s won gold in the long jump with a jump of 6.59m, beating athletes almost two years older and proving her character and mentality in adverse conditions.
In February 2021, she recorded a jump of 6.91m at the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona; setting a new junior world record and matching her mother's senior Italian indoor record.
Two years later, Larissa secured first place at the European U23 Championships before setting a new personal best of 6.95m at a Diamond League event in Monaco.
In spring 2024, Larrissa celebrated her first senior championship medal in front of her home crowd at the European Athletics Championships in Rome, where she claimed the silver medal in the long jump final.
Larissa had a stellar year in long jump in 2025. She won gold at the European Indoor Championships with a 6.94 m leap and broke the 7-metre barrier for the first time (7.06 m in Palermo), becoming Italy’s second woman ever to do so after her mother, Fiona May. She also claimed victories at the European Team Championships in Madrid and the Diamond League Final in Zurich.