Zahra Bani

Zahra Bani (born 31 December 1979) is a Somalian-born Italian javelin thrower.^[1]

Zahra Bani

Personal information
National team	Italy: 27 caps (2001-2021)[1]
Born	(1979-12-31) 31 December 1979 (age 45) Mogadishu, Somalia
Height	1,73 m
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Javelin throw
Club	G.S. Fiamme Azzurre[1]
Coached by	Maria Marello
Achievements and titles
Personal best	Javelin throw 62.75 m (2005)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd European Throwing Cup 0 0 2 European Team Championships 0 0 3 Mediterranean Games 0 2 0 Total 0 2 5 European Throwing Cup 2007 Yalta Javelin Throw 2008 Split Javelin Throw European Team Championships 2005 Florence Javelin Throw 2008 Annecy Javelin Throw 2009 Leiria Javelin Throw Mediterranean Games 2005 Almeria Javelin Throw 2009 Pescara Javelin Throw

Biography

Bani was born in 1979 in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, to an Italian father and a Somali mother. In 1989, she moved to Torino, Italy with her family and started playing volleyball. She soon thereafter discovered her specialty: javelin. Bani's personal best throw is 62.75 metres, achieved at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. However, since 2005, she has been suffering from health problems, which have significantly hampered her athletic performances. Bani ranks second on the all-time Italian list behind Claudia Coslovich.^[2] She retired in 2022 and is now a coach in Torino, Italy.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Measure	Notes
1998	World Junior Championships	Annecy	26th (q)	Javelin throw	44.38 m	[note 1]
1999	European U23 Championships	Gothenburg	6th	Javelin throw	51.90 m
2001	European Throwing Cup	Nice	13th	Javelin throw	51.10 m	[2]
	European U23 Championships	Amsterdam	21st (q)	Javelin throw	43.78 m
2003	European Throwing Cup	Gioia Tauro	9th	Javelin throw	54.10 m	[2]
2005	World Championships	Helsinki	5th	Javelin throw	62.75 m	PB
	Universiade	İzmir	6th	Javelin throw	55.02 m
	European Cup (Super League)	Florence	3rd	Javelin throw	61.66 m
	Mediterranean Games	Almería	2nd	Javelin throw	62.36 m
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo	8th	Javelin throw	55.02 m
2006	European Throwing Cup	Tel Aviv	5th	Javelin throw	56.54 m	[2]
	European Championships	Gothenburg	9th	Javelin throw	57.91 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart	6th	Javelin throw	60.54 m
2007	European Throwing Cup	Yalta	3rd	Javelin throw	58.95 m	[2]
	World Championships	Osaka	14th	Javelin throw	59.02 m
2008	European Throwing Cup	Split	3rd	Javelin throw	59.42 m	[2]
	European Cup (Super League)	Annecy	3rd	Javelin throw	58.13 m
	Olympic Games	Beijing	—	Javelin throw	NM
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart	4th	Javelin throw	60.22 m
2009	European Throwing Cup	Los Realejos	9th	Javelin throw	55.19 m	[2]
	European Team Championships (SL)	Leiria	3rd	Javelin throw	59.11 m	SB[3][4]
	Mediterranean Games	Pescara	2nd	Javelin throw	60.65 m
2010	European Throwing Cup	Arles	8th	Javelin throw	56.93 m	[1]
	European Team Championships (SL)	Bergen	7th	Javelin throw	54.79 m
	European Championships	Barcelona	11th	Javelin throw	53.67 m
2011	European Throwing Cup	Sofia	4th	Javelin throw	54.55 m	[5]
	European Team Championships (SL)	Stockholm	6th	Javelin throw	55.92 m
	World Championships	Daegu	13th	Javelin throw	58.92 m
2012	European Throwing Cup	Bar	7th	Javelin throw	56.99 m	[6]
	European Championships	Helsinki	12th	Javelin throw	53.40 m
2015	European Throwing Cup	Leiria	13th	Javelin throw	51,32 m	[7]
2017	European Throwing Cup	Las Palmas	8th	Javelin throw	55,85 m	[8]
2018	European Throwing Cup	Leiria	5th	Javelin throw	56.48 m	SB[9]
2021	European Throwing Cup	Split	11th	Javelin throw	57.15 m	SB[10]

National titles

Bani won 17 national championships at individual senior level.^{[11] [12][13]}

• Italian Athletics Championships
  • Javelin throw: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2021 (8)
• Italian Winter Throwing Championships
  • Javelin throw: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 (9)

See also

• Italian Athletics Championships - Multi winners
• Italian all-time lists - Javelin throw
• Italy at the European Throwing Cup
• Naturalized athletes of Italy
• Italian Somalians

Notes

1. Old speciality.