Fiona May has competed in 11 European Cups, including two in Florence. Italy’s British born long jumper talks about why she loves the Cup and what it meant to have it in her adopted home city.

May on competing in Florence…

“Competing in the SPAR European Cup in Florence was very special for me. I have lived in and around Florence since I moved to Italy so I’m very much a local girl. We now live about 50 minutes from the stadium as we are to the north of the city and the stadium on another side.

“When I competed there for the first time in 2003 the crowd really got behind me. It was also the first time that most of my husband’s family had seen me compete… after 10 years of marriage!

“They got quite a shock seeing me in an athlete’s two-piece kit, especially a few of my older male in-laws, as I think the most they had seen of me was in shorts playing golf! Anyway, they got to see that I am a real athlete.

“2005 was the first time my daughter Larissa watched me compete. She was born in 2002, just 10 months before the 2003 SPAR European Cup but she was too young to come then.

“She’s sort-of named after Larisa Berezhnaya, one of my great rivals in the early Nineties, and it was also the name of an old friend. It’s a good mix because I didn’t want anything too British and my husband Gianni (Iapichino, a former Italian pole vault record holder) didn’t want anything too Italian!”

May on what the event means to her…

“The European Cup has always meant a lot to me because I’ve always realised the importance of doing well for the team.

“It was like that when I was jumping for Britain. I made my debut in 1989 when the British men won the competition for the first time, and in front of a home audience. There was a phenomenal atmosphere in Gateshead, so how could you not love the European Cup after such an experience?

“My feelings about the event grew even stronger after I started representing Italy. I learnt about the founder Bruno Zauli, who was Italian, his history and the background to the Cup.

“It’s an honour to compete in the Cup and, having jumped for both Britain and Italy, I’ve had the best of both worlds as they are both great athletics nations.

“The European Cup also has a special place for me personally as it was one of the first senior competitions I competed in.

“The Cup hasn’t changed and my event hasn’t changed but the faces jumping have changed and now I’m one of the senior figures in the sport.”


Fiona May was the 1995 and 1991 World champion in the women’s long jump. She also won Silver medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. She has competed 11 times in the SPAR European Cup long jump, winning on three occasions, and also twice in the triple jump, which she won in 1998 with an Italian record.