Larissa Iapichino breaks mother Fiona May's 28-year-old Italian long jump record with 7.12m in Eugene

The jump that rewrote a family record

Larissa Iapichino needed only one attempt at Hayward Field to claim the Italian long jump record. Her 7.12-metre leap, assisted by a legal wind of +1.8 m/s, added a single centimetre to the 7.11 m that her mother, Fiona May, had held since 22 August 1998. The mark was the second-oldest Italian women's record still standing, behind only Gabriella Dorio's 800 m time from 1980.

I believed in myself, I think I had the perfect mental setup.

Iapichino finished second in the competition, one centimetre behind American Tara Davis-Woodhall (7.13 m). The result nevertheless made her the European season leader and confirmed the form that brought her a world indoor silver medal in March.

A record that stays in the family

Fiona May, a British-born athlete who became Italian through marriage, improved the national mark seven times between 1994 and 1998. Her daughter's first reaction was to embrace her father and coach, Gianni Iapichino, before joking that the record "stays in the family." May celebrated on Instagram with an emphatic "Yessss."

Sorry? No, it all stays in the family.

Iapichino, who turns 24 on 17 July, had previously jumped 7.06 m in Palermo on 31 May 2025. The Eugene performance improved her outdoor best by six centimetres and her 2026 indoor season best by 19 centimetres.

A golden weekend for Italian athletics

The long jump record capped a remarkable 72 hours for Italy. Andy Diaz posted a world-leading 17.74 m in the triple jump, Leonardo Fabbri threw 22.74 m in the shot put, and Francesco Pernici broke Marcello Fiasconaro's 53-year-old 800 m record with 1:43.60. Iapichino's feat, however, carried the extra weight of a mother-daughter storyline that resonated far beyond the stadium.

The road to Birmingham

With the European Championships in Birmingham (Fiona May's birthplace) approaching in August, Iapichino's jump positions her as a favourite. She cautioned against expecting linear progress, noting that athletes are not robots and occasional dips are normal. Still, the trajectory of the Italian women's long jump record, which has moved 47 centimetres since 1988, now points firmly upward.