Mirela Maniani

Mirela Maniani (Greek: Μιρέλα Μανιάνι, [miˈrela maˈɲani];, 21 December 1976) is a retired Greek track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. Prior to 1997, she represented Albania.

Life and athletic achievements

Mirela Maniani

Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Greece
Olympic Games
	2000 Sydney	Javelin
	2004 Athens	Javelin
World Championships
	1999 Seville	Javelin
	2003 Paris	Javelin
	2001 Edmonton	Javelin
European Championships
	2002 Munich	Javelin

Maniani was born Mirela Manjani on 21 December 1976 in Durrës, Albania. In 1996, at the University of Alabama she set a new Albanian national record at 62.46 m (as of 2017, she still holds the national record of Albania).^[1] She represented Albania at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, USA and ranked 24th overall. During the competition she was also Albania's flag bearer.^[2]

After marrying a Greek citizen, the weightlifter Giorgos Tzelilis, Manjani received Greek citizenship and represented Greece at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics in Athens. Her first major success came in 1999 in Seville, where she won the gold medal at the World Championships with a throw of 67.09 m. Her performance was considered as a world record, as a new type of javelin had been introduced in 1999. At the 2000 Summer Olympics she won the silver medal with a personal best of 67.51 m. She also won the bronze medal in 2004. Maniani is also a European champion and double world champion. Her personal best throw of 67.51 metres is the current Greek record.^[3]

Personal life

Mirela Maniani married the weightlifter George Tzelilis in 1997, and became a Greek citizen. She was known as Mirela Maniani-Tzelili until 2002, when she divorced Tzelilis. Maniani has one daughter from her third wedding with the Greek basketball player Giannis Giannoulis.^[4]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Albania
1994	World Junior Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	8th	52.22 m (old spec.)
	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	22nd (q)	49.96 m (old spec.)
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	12th	55.56 m
	European Junior Championships	Nyíregyháza, Hungary	2nd	59.36 m (old spec.)
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	24th (q)	55.64 m
Representing  Greece
1997	World Championships	Athens, Greece	11th	61.02 m
1998	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	9th	58.65 m
1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain	1st	67.09 m CR
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	2nd	67.51 m =NR
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	2nd	65.78 m
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	1st	67.47 m CR
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	1st	66.52 m WL
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	3rd	64.29 m

References

• Mirela Maniani at IAAF

Sporting positions
Preceded by Osleidys Menéndez	Women's Javelin Best Year Performance 2002–2003	Succeeded by Osleidys Menéndez
Olympic Games
Preceded by Kristo Robo	Flagbearer for  Albania Atlanta 1996	Succeeded by Ilirian Suli