Mirella Maniani

Olympic Medals

1S 1B

Athletics

Silver medal, September 30, 2000, Mirela Maniani, javelin throw. Sydney 2000

Mirella Maniani traveled to Sydney with the gold world title in her collection. A title she had won in Seville and even with a new world record. So she was very confident to win a medal and of course she had the first place in mind again. With a throw of 63.34 she easily made the qualification mark for the final and waited for the decisive day of the competition. But she got a bad start, a foul on herself, a big throw from the Norwegian Trine Hattestad, who immediately took the lead. Mirella went on the attack, setting a new record for Greece with 67.51 (3rd attempt) and threatening Hattestad until the end, who did not have a better attempt. In her last attempt, the Greek champion sent her javelin again to 67.51. Her six throws were: invalid, 65.56, 67.51, 61.96, 65.34, 67.51. Cuban Menendez won the bronze medal with 66.18. The final ranking: Hattestad (Norway) 68.91 Maniani (Greece) 67.51 Menendes (Cuba) 66.18 Nerius (Germany) 64.84 Bisset (Cuba) 63.26 Rivero (Cuba) 62.92 Shikolenko (Russia) 62.91 Brejchkova (Czech Republic) 62.10

Bronze metal. Mirela Maniani, August 27, 2004, javelin throw. Athens 2004

The competition ended like a thriller and its variation in the final was sensational. In the sixth attempt Mirella Maniani was in third place, and shortly before the end nobody believed that anything could change. She had previously thrown a best of 63.61, and behind her was the experienced German Steffi Nerius. In her last throw, she hurled her javelin to 65.82 and moved up to second place, leaving the Greek champion off the podium. Mirella took the lead and with all the strength she had left, sent her javelin away in the last attempt. The Olympic Stadium was shaken by the fan action. Her performance was 64.29 and brought her to third place and the bronze medal, ahead of Czech Brejchkova, who stayed at 64.23. Mirella became the second Greek athlete in the history of the Olympic Games to win a second consecutive Olympic medal (2000, 2004), after Kelesidou. Cuban Osleidis Menendez won with a new Olympic record of 71.53. The final ranking: Menendez (Cuba) 71.53 Nerius (Germany) 65.82 Maniani (Greece) 64.29 Brejchkova (Czech Republic) 64.23 S. Bisset (Cuba) 63.54 Eve (Bahamas) 62.77 N. Bicet (Cuba) 62.51 Liakhovych (Ukraine) 61.75

They said..

“The competition doesn’t stop with the first shot, there are six tries, and I just tried to stay focused and competitive after Hattestad’s performance. It’s certainly not the best thing to accept a throw like that right at the start. I knew I could throw far, and I wasn’t chasing a medal, but I really wanted to win gold. I knew before I arrived in Sydney that I’d get a medal, I just didn’t know what color. After my throw of 67.51, I knew I’d be on the podium, and I chased the gold like mad. I fought until the end.”

September 30, 2000

“The competition was very difficult and I didn’t feel confident at all. I missed a lot of training this year due to injury, and unfortunately my confidence wasn’t high. When I qualified for the final with my last shot, I told myself that now I’ve six more attempts. My big shot at the end and the bronze medal came from my persistence and my need not to disappoint the fans.”

August 27, 2004