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Medal record
Sara Simeoni
Women's Athletics
Competitor for  Italy
Olympic Games
Gold	1980 Moscow	High Jump
Silver	1976 Montreal	High Jump
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	High Jump

Sara Simeoni (born April 19, 1953) is an Italian former high jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics and twice set a world record in the women's high jump.

Sara Simeoni was born in Rivoli Veronese, in the province of Verona. She soon took up athletics, specialising in the high jump. Her first international result was at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki, where she ended 9th with a 178 cm jump.

Her first taste of international success was at the 1976 in Montreal, where she won a silver medal, with a personal best of 1.91 m, and was beaten only by Rosemarie Ackermann's 1.93 m leap.

In August 1978, she set the new world record with 2.01 m in Brescia (this jump stood as a national record until Antonietta Di Martino jumped 2.02 in June 2007). Later in the same month she equalled it at Prague while winning the European title. In 1980, Simeoni set a new Olympic record of 1.97 m, when winning gold in Moscow.

Simeoni struggled to regain her form in the following years, with a series of tendon injuries. At 1984 Olympics, Simeoni carried the Italian flag at the opening ceremony in Los Angeles. Here, she cemented her reputation as one of the greatest female high jumpers ever, in a thrilling duel with German Ulrike Meyfarth. Simeoni managed to reach the 2 meters measure for the first time since 1978. The ageing Meyfarth, however, replied with a notable 2.02 m jump, and Simeoni won a silver medal.

Simeoni's other titles include two bronze medals at the European Championships and 23 national titles. Her jump of 2.01 m was the Italian record for women for 29 years. The 8th of June 2007 Antonietta Di Martino jumped 2.02 meters, establishing the new Italian record for women. Sara Simeoni is widely considered one of the best Italian female athletes ever.

[edit] Achievements

Records
Preceded by Rosemarie Ackermann	Women's High Jump World Record Holder August 4, 1978 – September 8, 1982	Succeeded by Ulrike Meyfarth
Sporting positions
Preceded by Rosemarie Ackermann	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance 1978	Succeeded by Rosemarie Ackermann
Preceded by Rosemarie Ackermann	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance 1980	Succeeded by Pamela Spencer