View source for Fiona May

{{Short description|British-born Italian long jumper}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| image = Fiona may.JPG
| caption =
| nationality = Italian
| sport = Athletics
| event = [[Long jump]]
| club =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1969|12|12}}
| birth_place = [[Slough]], England
| headercolor = 
| residence =
| retired=
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height = {{height|m=1.81}}
| weight = {{convert|60|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}
| pb = 7.11 m (1998) [[File:Sport_records_icon_NR.svg|22px]]
| country =  [[Italy national athletics team|Italy]]
| medaltemplates=
{{MedalCountry|{{ITA}}}}
{{MedalCount|total=yes
|[[Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]|0|2|0
|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]|2|1|1
|[[European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]|0|1|1
|[[IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics|World Indoor Championships]]|1|0|0
|{{nowrap|[[European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]}}|1|0|0
|[[Mediterranean Games]]|1|0|0
|[[European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]]|3|2|3
}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Atlanta]]|[[Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1995 World Championships in Athletics|1995 Gothenburg]]|[[1995 World Championships in Athletics – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|2001 Edmonton]]|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics|1999 Seville]]|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1997 World Championships in Athletics|1997 Athens]]|[[1997 World Championships in Athletics – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics|World Indoor Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships|1997 Paris]]|[[1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1998 European Athletics Championships|1998 Budapest]]|[[1998 European Athletics Championships – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1994 European Athletics Championships|1994 Helsinki]]|[[1994 European Athletics Championships – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1998 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1998 Valencia]]|[[1998 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's long jump|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Country|{{GBR2}}}}
{{MedalCount
|[[Universiade]]|1|0|0
|[[European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]]|0|0|3
}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1990 Commonwealth Games|1990 Auckland]]|[[Athletics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games|Long jump]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics|World Junior Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics|1988 Sudbury]]|Long jump}}
}}

'''Fiona May''' (born 12 December 1969) is a retired [[track and field]] athlete who competed for the United Kingdom and later Italy in the [[long jump]]. She won the [[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]] twice and two Olympic silver medals. Her personal best jump was 7.11 metres, which was her silver medal result at the [[1998 European Athletics Championships|1998 European Championships]].

==Career==
She also competed briefly in the [[triple jump]], and her career best of 14.65 metres from 1998 was good enough to place fifth in the world that season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.iaaf.org/Results/lists/1998/outdoor/G/w/TJ.html|title=TRIPLE JUMP 1998|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040815233700/http://www2.iaaf.org/Results/lists/1998/outdoor/G/w/TJ.html|archive-date=15 August 2004}}</ref> May originally competed for Great Britain, but became an Italian citizen upon her marriage to her coach [[Gianni Iapichino]] in 1994. May missed the whole 2002 season as a result of her pregnancy and childbirth. Her last significant competition was the [[2005 World Championships in Athletics|2005 World Championships]], where she failed to reach the [[2005 World Championships in Athletics – Women's long jump|final]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=32103.html|title=Fiona May's makes Final Farewell|publisher=iaaf.org|access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref> May and Iapichino were married until 2011.

Born in Slough and raised in Derby, May attended [[Leeds Trinity University College|Leeds Trinity & All Saints College]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.at1ce.org/themenreihe.p?c=University%20of%20Leeds|title=University of Leeds|publisher=at1ce.org|access-date=25 October 2012}}{{dead link|date=January 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> a college affiliated with the [[University of Leeds]], studying economics, business management and administration. In 2006, she retired from competitions and started a new successful career in show business. After some modelling, she became the spokeswoman of the [[Ferrero SpA|Kinder]] snacks and she won the Italian version of ''[[Dancing with the Stars]]'' in 2006. Later that year her acting debut was broadcast on [[Rai Uno]] as the protagonist of ''[[Butta la luna]]'', a [[miniseries]] about racism and social integration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvblog.it/post/12898/butta-la-luna-2-da-stasera-su-raiuno-torna-fiona-may-in-versione-attrice|title=Butta la luna 2, da stasera su Raiuno torna Fiona May in versione attric|date=26 February 2009 |publisher=tvblog.it|language=it|access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref>

===Other ventures===
In 2019, Fiona May become the [[testimonial]] of the Italian [[Salesians of Don Bosco]]'s missions in Africa and particularly of their Ethiopian activities for mothers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.missionidonbosco.org/fiona-may-il-futuro-la-nostra-missione/|title=Fiona May, il futuro è la nostra missione|date=4 December 2019|access-date=9 May 2021|language=Italian|website=Salesians of Don Bosco}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.missionidonbosco.org/fiona-may-testimonial-di-missioni-don-bosco/|title=Fiona May testimonial di Missioni Don Bosco
|language=Italian|date=23 April 2019}}</ref>

==Family==
May's parents are [[Jamaicans|Jamaican]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=9358|title=Sporting heroes}}</ref> and she is also rugby player [[Marcel Garvey]]'s cousin. In 1994, she married her coach [[Gianni Iapichino]], a former [[pole vault]]er whose best achievements were a fifth and sixth place at the European Indoor Championships in [[1992 European Indoor Championships in Athletics|1992]] and [[1994 European Indoor Championships in Athletics|1994]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.european-athletics.org/news/24-review/european-athletics-indoor-championships-reviews.html|title=24th European Indoor Championships 1996, 24th European Indoor Championships 1998|publisher=european-athletics.org|access-date=25 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929190650/http://www.european-athletics.org/news/24-review/european-athletics-indoor-championships-reviews.html|archive-date=29 September 2013}}</ref> she gave birth to their daughter [[Larissa Iapichino|Larissa]] in 2002. Larissa is following her parents' footsteps, winning the Italian and European titles for the 300 metres hurdles<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.repubblica.it/sport/vari/2016/10/09/news/atletica_figlia_fiona_may_campione_d_italia_300_hs-149426618/|title=Atletica, Larissa Iapichino, figlia di Fiona May, è campione d'Italia nei 300 hs|date=9 October 2016}}</ref> and the long jump silver medal at the [[2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships|2023 European Indoor Championships]].<ref name=FIDAL>{{cite web|url=http://www.fidal.it/atleta_one.php?t=faqRkpqka2U|title=Larissa Iapichino - Biografia|website=fidal.it|language=it|access-date=10 March 2023}}</ref>

==Achievements==
{| {{AchievementTable}}
|-
!colspan="5"|Representing {{GBR2}} and {{ENG}}
|-
|1986
|[[1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics|World Junior Championships]]
|[[Athens]], [[Greece]]
|8th
|[[1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics – Women's long jump|6.11 m]]
|-
|1987
|[[1987 European Athletics Junior Championships|European Junior Championships]]
|[[Birmingham]], United Kingdom
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|6.64 m '''w'''
|-
|rowspan=2|1988
|[[1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics|World Junior Championships]]
|[[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury]], Canada
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|[[1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics – Women's long jump|6.88 m]] '''w'''  <small>(wind: +2.1&nbsp;m/s)</small>
|-
|[[Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics - Women's Long Jump|Olympic Games]]
|[[Seoul]], South Korea
| 6th
|6.62 m
|-
|rowspan=2|1990
|[[Athletics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[Auckland]], New Zealand
|bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd
|6.55 m
|-
|[[1990 European Athletics Championships - Women's long jump|European Championships]]
|[[Split (city)|Split]], [[Yugoslavia]]
| 7th
|[[1990 European Athletics Championships – Women's long jump|6.77 m]] <small>(wind:&nbsp;+1.3&nbsp;m/s)</small>
|-
|1991
|[[1991 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Tokyo]], Japan
|19th (q)
|6.54 m
|-
|1992
|[[Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Barcelona]], Spain
| —
|NM
|-
|1993
|[[1993 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Stuttgart]], Germany
|14th (q)
|6.42 m
|-
!colspan="5"|Representing {{ITA}}
|-
|1994
|[[1994 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Helsinki]], Finland
|bgcolor="CC9966"| 3rd
|[[1994 European Athletics Championships – Women's long jump|6.90 m]] <small>(wind:&nbsp;-0.7&nbsp;m/s)</small>
|-
|1995
|[[1995 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Gothenburg]], Sweden
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|6.98 m '''w'''
|-
|rowspan=2|1996
|[[Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Women's long jump|Olympic Games]]
|[[Atlanta]], United States
|bgcolor="silver"| 2nd
|7.02 m
|-
|[[1996 IAAF Grand Prix Final|IAAF Grand Prix Final]]
|[[Milan]], Italy
|bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd
|6.86 m
|-
|rowspan=2|1997
|[[1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships|World Indoor Championships]]
|[[Paris]], France
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|6.86 m
|-
|[[1997 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Athens]], Greece
|bgcolor=CC9966| 3rd
|6.91 m
|-
|rowspan=2|1998
|[[1998 European Indoor Athletics Championships|European Indoor Championships]]
|[[Valencia (city in Spain)|Valencia]], Spain
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|[[1998 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's long jump|6.91 m]]
|-
|[[1998 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Budapest]], Hungary
|bgcolor="silver"| 2nd
|[[1998 European Athletics Championships – Women's long jump|7.11 m]]
|-
|1999
|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Sevilla]], Spain
|bgcolor="silver"| 2nd
|6.94 m
|-
|2000
|[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Sydney]], Australia
|bgcolor="silver"| 2nd
|6.92 m
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
|[[2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships|World Indoor Championships]]
|[[Lisbon]], Portugal
| 4th
|6.87 m
|-
|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Edmonton]], Canada
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|7.02 m '''w'''
|-
|2003
|[[2003 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|Paris, France
| 9th
|6.46 m
|-
|rowspan=2|2004
|[[2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships|World Indoor Championships]]
|[[Budapest]], Hungary
| 6th
|6.64 m
|-
|[[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Athens]], Greece
| 28th (q)
|6.38 m
|-
|2005
|[[Athletics at the 2005 Mediterranean Games|Mediterranean Games]]
|[[Almería]], Spain
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|6.64 m
|}

==See also==
*[[Italy at the Olympics#Women gold medalist|Italian sportswomen multiple medalists at Olympics and World Championships]]
*[[Italian record progression women's long jump]]
*[[Athletics in Italy#Long jump|Italian all-time lists – Long jump]]
*[[Athletics in Italy#Triple jump|Italian all-time lists – Triple jump]]
*[[FIDAL Hall of Fame]]
*[[Naturalized athletes of Italy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}
*{{IMDb name}}

{{Navboxes
|title=Related
|list1=
{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|aw}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Manuela Di Centa]]
| title = [[:de:Gazzetta_Sports_Award#Referendum_Gazzetta_.281978.E2.80.932014.29|Italian Sportswoman of the Year]]
| years = 1995
| after = [[Deborah Compagnoni]]
}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box|before=[[Maurren Higa Maggi]]|title=[[Long jump#Women.27s Seasons Best .28Outdoor.29|Women's Long Jump Best Year Performance]]|years=2000|after=[[Tatyana Kotova]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Footer World Champions Long Jump Women}}
{{Footer World Indoor Champions Long Jump Women}}
{{Footer European Champions Indoor Long Jump Women}}
{{Footer Mediterranean Champions Long Jump Women}}
{{Footer World Junior Champions women's long jump}}
{{Italian Athletics Champions in women's long jump}}
{{Italian Athletics Champions in women's indoor long jump}}
{{Footer UK NC Long Jump Women}}
{{Footer Italy athletics team at the 1996 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Italy athletics team at the 2000 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Italy athletics team at the 2004 Summer Olympics}}
{{Italian Sportswoman of the Year}}
}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Fiona}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Slough]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Derby]]
[[Category:Italian female long jumpers]]
[[Category:English female long jumpers]]
[[Category:British female long jumpers]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Italy]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Italy]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:European Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Italy]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:Dancing with the Stars winners]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of Italy]]
[[Category:English emigrants to Italy]]
[[Category:Italian people of Jamaican descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Jamaican descent]]
[[Category:English people of Jamaican descent]]
[[Category:Alumni of Leeds Trinity University]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy]]
[[Category:Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2005 Mediterranean Games]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games silver medalists for Great Britain]]
[[Category:World Athletics Indoor Championships winners]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:Black British sportswomen]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:Reality show winners]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Italian Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportswomen]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian sportswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century English sportswomen]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics]]