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Shelley Holroyd

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Shelley Holroyd
OLY
Personal information
Full nameShelley Holroyd OLY [1]
NationalityBritish
Born (1973-05-17) 17 May 1973 (age 51)
Salford, England
Sport
CountryEngland, UK
SportAthletics
Event(s)
Javelin
ClubEssex Ladies Athletic Club
Sale Harriers
Turned pro1993
Coached byWilliam Nicholls (1986–1993),
Fatima Whitbread (1993–1995)
Retired2006 due to injury
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals23rd
World finals16th 1993 World Championships
Regional finals1st
National finals1st
Highest world ranking4th
Personal best(s)Official Javelin: 60.12 m
(unofficial 65.40 & Standing throw 52 m)

Shelley Holroyd OLY (born 17 May 1973) is a British Olympic javelin thrower.[2]

Athletics career

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Holroyd was the sixth British javelin thrower to throw over 60 metres (1993) and the first thrower to reach an Olympic Games since Tessa Sanderson. At the age of 23 she had already competed in every major championship. She started throwing at the age of 12 and at 13 threw 37m58cm to win the English Schools Championships. At the age of 16 Holroyd threw 52m50 and became a senior international athlete. In 1992 she broke the English Schools record with 56m50 and it is still the longest throw in the history of the English Schools female javelin. Later that year Holroyd was picked for the GB Junior team and subsequently came fourth at the World Junior Championships (1992) and was ranked Britain's number one thrower. In 1993 Holroyd threw 60m10cm to win the World Championship Trials and qualified for the World Championships, Stuttgart.

In March 1995 Holroyd was involved in a car accident that was deemed to be the end of her throwing career but she overcame her injuries to start training in July the same year. In December she was involved in a freak training accident and broke her right elbow. Once again the injury threatened her career. February 1996 saw Holroyd come back from her injury and in July 1996 she qualified for the 1996 Great Britain Olympic team.

At the 1997 World Championships in Athens Holroyd became ill during the competition after having an allergic reaction to an injection and had to pull out. It was another year plagued with injuries. She represented England in the javelin, at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3][4] Eight years later she competed in the javelin again at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.[5]

After a 17-year spell as an international athlete Holroyd retired in 2006 due to injury and moved into coaching.

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Great Britain and  England
1992 World Junior Championships Seoul, South Korea 4th 57.08 m
1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 16th 57.66 m
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 21st 51.26 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, Georgia, USA 27th 54.72 m

Domestic championships

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  • English Schools Champion 1986, 1991, 1992
  • North of England Champion 1991, 1992, 1993, 2005
  • UK Championships 1989 3rd, 1992 2nd, 1997 2nd
  • AAAs Champion 1993, 1994 2nd in 1996, 1998, 2005 3rd in 2000, 2004

References

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  1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Olympic Profile". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  3. ^ "1998 Athletes". Team England.
  4. ^ "England team in 1998". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  5. ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
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