Mirela Maniani

Mirela Maniani

Personal information
Birth name	Mirela Manjani
Nationality	Albanian
Born	(1976-12-21)21 December 1976 Durrës,Albania
Spouses	Georgios Tzelilis ​ ​ (m.1997;div.2002)​ Giannis Skoutelas ​ ​ (m.2004;div.2006)​ Giannis Giannoulis ​ ​ (m.2009;div.2014)​
Military career
Allegiance	Greece
Service/branch	Hellenic Navy
Years of service	1999–unknown
Achievements and titles
Personalbests	NR67.51 m (2000)
Medal record RepresentingGreece Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Javelin 2004 Athens Javelin World Championships 1999 Seville Javelin 2003 Paris Javelin 2001 Edmonton Javelin European Championships 2002 Munich Javelin
Updated on 18 May 2015

Mirela Maniani(Greek:Μιρέλα Μανιάνι,[miˈrelamaˈɲani],born 21 December 1976) is a Greek retiredtrack and fieldathlete who competed in thejavelin throw.She was named theGreek Female Athlete of the Yearfor 2003.

Life and athletic achievements

Albania

Maniani was born as Mirela Manjani on 21 December 1976 inDurrës,Albania.In 1996, at theUniversity of Alabamashe set a new Albanian national record at 62.46 m (as of 2017, she still holdsthe national record of Albania).She representedAlbania at the 1996 Summer OlympicsinAtlanta, USAandranked 24th overall.During the competition she was alsoAlbania's flag bearer.

Greece

After marrying a Greek citizen, the weightlifterGeorgios Tzelilis,she received Greek citizenship and represented Greece at the1997 World Championships in AthleticsinAthens.Her first major success came in 1999 inSeville,where she won the gold medal at theWorld Championshipswith a throw of 67.09 m. Her performance was considered as aworld record,as a new type of javelin had been introduced in 1999. At the2000 Summer Olympicsshe won the silver medal with a personal best of 67.51 m. She also won the bronze medal in2004.Maniani is also aEuropean championand doubleworld champion.Her personal best throw of 67.51 metres is the currentGreek record.

Maniani joined theHellenic Navyin 1999.

Personal life

Mirela Maniani was married to the weightlifterGeorgios Tzelilisin 1997, and became aGreekcitizen. She was known as Mirela Maniani-Tzelili until 2002, when she divorced Tzelilis. Maniani has one daughter from her third wedding with theGreekbasketball player,Giannis Giannoulis.

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
RepresentingAlbania
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
RepresentingGreece
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 mCR
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	1st	66.52 mWL
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	3rd	64.29 m

External links

• Mirela ManjaniatWorld Athletics
• Mirela Maniani-TzeliliatOlympedia
• Mirella Maniani-TzeliliatOlympics.com
• Mirella Manianiat theHellenic Olympic Committee