Early life Silvia Salis was born in
Genoa,
Liguria, and grew up in the district of
Sturla. Her father, Eugenio, originally from
Sorso,
Sardinia, worked as a groundskeeper at the Villa Gentile athletics field and was an active member of the
Italian Communist Party. Her mother was employed by the municipality.
Youth career Salis began training in track and field in 1993 at the age of eight. Initially interested in the
long jump, she eventually shifted her focus to throwing events under the guidance of coach Valter Superina, himself a former
hammer thrower. Salis's first national successes came in 2001, when she won youth titles and represented Italy at the
World Youth Championships in
Debrecen. Over the following years, she claimed multiple Italian junior and under-23 titles and took part in major international competitions, including the European and World Junior Championships, as well as the European U23 Championships.
Rise to the National Team and the Beijing Olympics Salis made her senior debut with the
Italian national team at the
2006 European Championships in
Gothenburg, though she did not advance to the final. In 2007, she finished fourth at the
European U23 Championships and ninth at the
Universiade in
Bangkok. The following year she won several national medals, including gold at the university championships and silver at both the indoor and outdoor national competitions. Internationally, she placed seventh at the
European Winter Throwing Cup in
Split and fifth at the
European Cup in
Annecy. In 2008 she surpassed the 70-meter mark for the first time, qualifying for the
Beijing Olympics. However, she did not reach the final.
International breakthrough and medals (2009–2011) In 2009, Salis won two national titles and earned a bronze medal at the
European Winter Throwing Cup in the
Canary Islands. That summer, she won gold at the
Mediterranean Games in
Pescara. She also placed fifth at the
Universiade in
Belgrade and competed at the
World Championships in
Berlin without reaching the final. Over the next two years, she continued to dominate at the national level, claiming both winter and summer titles. Internationally, she finished seventh at the
2010 European Championships in
Barcelona and took silver at the
Winter Throwing Cup in
Arles. In 2011, she set her personal best of 71.93 meters at a meet in
Savona. That season also included top-eight finishes at the
Winter Throwing Cup in
Sofia, the
European Team Championships in
Stockholm, and the
World Championships in
Daegu, where she placed eighth.
London Olympics and final seasons (2012–2015) Salis began 2012 with three national titles—indoor, outdoor, and university—but experienced setbacks internationally. She finished ninth at the
European Winter Throwing Cup in
Montenegro and failed to register a valid throw in qualification at the
European Championships in
Helsinki. At the
London Olympics, she did not progress beyond the qualification round, registering only one legal throw that hit the cage and landed at 10.84 meters. In the years that followed, she remained a prominent figure in national competitions. In 2013 she was seventh at the
European Team Championships in
Gateshead. In 2014, she won another national title and placed fourth at the European Winter Throwing Cup in
Leiria and fifth at the
European Team Championships in
Braunschweig. She continued competing in 2015, winning her tenth national title at the Italian Championships in
Turin and finishing seventh again in
Leiria.
Transition to Sports administration In April 2016, Salis retired from competition due to injury. She soon transitioned into a leadership role, becoming a sports executive for the
Fiamme Azzurre, the police sports group she had long represented. Later that year, she was elected to the Federal Council of the
Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL). In 2017, she joined the National Council of the
Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), and in May 2021, she was elected Deputy Vice President of CONI.
Political career On 26 May 2025, she was elected
Mayor of Genoa, defeating the
centre-right candidate . Salis entered politics in early 2025 when she was announced as the
centre-left coalition's candidate for
mayor of
Genoa in the
local elections. Her candidacy was backed by the
Democratic Party, the
Five Star Movement, the
Green and Left Alliance, and several civic lists, including one bearing her name, "Silvia Salis Sindaca". == Personal life ==