Derval O'Rourke
Encyclopedia
Derval O'Rourke (born May 28, 1981 in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

) is an Irish sprint
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

 hurdles athlete. She competes internationally in the 60
60 metres hurdles
60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 60 metres including the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds and 7.30 seconds ,...

 and 100 metres hurdles
100 metres hurdles
The 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...

, and is the Irish national record holder in both events. She has participated in two Indoor World Championships
IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics
The International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships were inaugurated as the World Indoor Games in 1985 in Paris, France and were subsequently renamed in 1987 as they are known today.-History:...

 and the last five "Outdoor" World Championships
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...

 and the 2004
Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Ireland competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.Ireland's Olympic campaign for the 2004 Games was dogged with controversy from the start, with the disqualification of Cathal Lombard for failing a drug test for the drug EPO...

, 2008 Summer Olympics
Ireland at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Ireland competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China. It was the 19th Summer Games that Ireland has contested as a nation under the Olympic Council of Ireland.-Medalists:- Athletics:...

.

Biography

Born in Cork, O'Rourke attended University College, Dublin (UCD) where she held a sports scholarship between 2000 and 2004. She graduated with a BA (Hons) degree from the college in 2003 and a Diploma in Business Studies from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is the business school of University College Dublin, located in Blackrock in Dublin, Republic of Ireland....

 in 2005. O'Rourke is based in Dublin and is coached by Sean and Terrie Cahill. They have been involved in her coaching since October 2005

O'Rourke lists Sonia O'Sullivan
Sonia O'Sullivan
Sonia O'Sullivan in Cobh, County Cork. She began her running career in Ballymore Running Club which is located in the eastern side of Cobh Town. She was one of the world's leading female 5000 m runners for most of the 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century...

 and footballer Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....

 among her sporting idols.
Derval recently completed an honors Masters in Business Management from Smurfit Business School

Competition

O'Rourke first broke 13 seconds when she finished 4th at the 2003 European Under 23 Athletics Championships
2003 European Athletics U23 Championships
The 2003 European Athletics U23 Championships was held in Bydgoszcz, Poland at the Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium between 17–20 July 2003.- Men's :-Women's:-Medals table:-References:* . GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.*...

 in Bydgoszcz, Poland, running a national record of 12.96 seconds, missing out on a medal by just 0.01 seconds. In 2003 she competed at her first World Athletics Championships in Paris, and in 2004 competed at her first Olympic Games in Athens, on both occasions failing to make it past the heats. In 2005 O'Rourke reached the semi finals of the World Championships
2005 World Championships in Athletics - Women's 100 metres Hurdles
The 100 metres hurdles at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on August 9, 10 and 11.The top four runners in each of the initial 5 heats automatically qualified for the semi finals. The next four fastest runners from across the heats also qualified...

 in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. One week later Derval O'Rourke won the Bronze medal in the 100 m Hurdles at the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey in a time of 13.02 seconds. O'Rourke was also part of the Irish 4x100 m Relay team that won Bronze.

At the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olimpiyski Sport arena....

 O'Rourke won the gold medal in the 60 m hurdles, becoming the first Irish woman to win an indoor world athletics championship. On her way to winning she broke the Irish national record twice and her winning time was 7.84 s.

O'Rourke had a successful 2006 outdoor track season after missing the initial part of the season due to injury. In the run up to the European Championships
2006 European Championships in Athletics
The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...

, O'Rourke lowered her Irish national record for the 100 m hurdles
100 metres hurdles
The 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...

 twice and had a personal best of 12.85 s before the championships. In the 2006 European Championships in Athletics
2006 European Championships in Athletics
The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...

, O'Rourke finished joint second with Kirsten Bolm
Kirsten Bolm
Kirsten Bolm is a German hurdler.Her personal best is 12.59 seconds, achieved in July 2005 in the Crystal Palace Grand Prix at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre....

 and behind Swedish athlete and favourite, Susanna Kallur
Susanna Kallur
Susanna Elisabeth Kallur is a Swedish athlete competing mainly in sprint hurdles. She has won several international medals, including the gold medal in the 100 m hurdles at the 2006 European Athletics Championships...

 in a time of 12.72, a new national record. Later in the same championship O'Rourke ran the first leg for the Irish 4 x 100 m relay
4 x 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...

 team which included Joanne Cuddihy
Joanne Cuddihy
Joanne Cuddihy is an Irish sprint athlete. She is the current Irish 400m outdoor women's record holder, having recorded a time of 50.73 seconds at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan - this made her the first Irish woman to have run under 51 seconds at this distance.She won...

, Ailis McSweeney
Ailis McSweeney
Ailis McSweeney is an Irish sprinter who specialises in 60 and 100 metres. She currently holds the Irish record at 100 metres, having posted a time of 11.40 s at an IAAF permit event in Liège, Belgium. She won the silver medal at the 2005 Summer Universiade and Bronze in the 4x100 m Relay...

, and Anna Boyle which set a new national record of 44.38 s.

The 2007 season proved less successful for O'Rourke. She did not participate in competition during the indoor season. She did however travel to Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, Japan for the World Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...

 and qualified for the semi-finals but finished eighth. She ended the 2007 seanson with a best of 12.88 set in Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...



2008 was also a poor season for O'Rourke. She did not compete at the World Indoor Championships, where she was the defending champion. olo Jones went on to win the championships and O'Rourke ended the indoor season with a best of 8.09 set in Peanía. O'Rourke competed for Ireland in the Women's 100 metre hurdles
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre hurdles
-Round 1:Qualifying rule: first two of each heat plus the six fastest times qualified.-Semifinals:Qualification: First 4 in each heat and the next fastest advance to the Final.-Final:...

 at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 held in Beijing, China: she failed to qualify from her heat, finishing sixth in a time of 13.22 s.

O'Rourke showed a return to form in 2009, highlighted by her capturing of the bronze medal in the 60 m hurdles at the 2009 European Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy in a time of 7.97 s.

On 18 August 2009, O'Rourke qualified from her 100m hurdles quarter-final at the World Championships
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....

, coming in 2nd place in Heat 3 in a time of 12.86, a season's best. A time of 12.73 when finishing 3rd in her semi-final was good enough to qualify her for the World Championship final as a fastest loser.
In the final
2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres hurdles
The women's 100 metres hurdles at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium 18 and 19 August.The world leader Lolo Jones had not qualified for the championships, but a number of athletes had also posted fast times and scored major victories on the World Athletics...

 on 19 August 2009, O'Rourke finished 4th behind winner Brigitte Foster-Hylton
Brigitte Foster-Hylton
Brigitte Foster-Hylton O.D is a Jamaican 100m hurdler. She was the World Champion over 100m hurdles in 2009....

, Priscilla Lopes-Schliep
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep is a Canadian hurdler in track and field athletic competition. She was born in Scarborough, Ontario and currently lives in Whitby. Lopes-Schliep is the first cousin of soccer player Dwayne De Rosario. She attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.Lopes-Schliep won a...

 and Delloreen Ennis-London
Delloreen Ennis-London
Delloreen Ennis-London is a Jamaican hurdling athlete who won the silver medal in the 100 metre hurdles at the 2005 World Championships....

, with a time of 12.67 setting a new national record and the fastest time by a European in 2009.
She was quoted afterwards as being "gutted not to have won a medal" but "It's a new national record, fourth in the world. I can’t really complain."

O' Rourke chose not to compete in the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Athletics due to minor injury.

O' Rourke was one of the favourites for the European title at the European Championships after a seasonal best of 12.71 in the semi final and, her silver medal attained at the 2006 Championships amongst other chief contenders like Carolin Nytra
Carolin Nytra
Carolin Nytra is a German athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles. With a personal best time of 12.57 seconds, she became the seventh fastest German ever over this distance at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne on 8 July 2010.Nytra represented Germany at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the...

 and Christina Vukicevic
Christina Vukicevic
Ljubica Christina Vukicevic is a Norwegian hurdler of Serbian and Norwegian descent...

. In the final, she won the silver medal once again. O'Rourke set an Irish record of 12.65, cutting .02secs off her previous mark.Turkey's Nevin Yanit
Nevin Yanıt
Nevin Yanıt, is a Turkish female sprinter competing in hurdling, especially in 100 m hurdles. Currently, she is majoring in Physical Education at Mersin University, and a member of the Fenerbahçe S.K. athletics club...

 won in 12.63, just .02 of a second ahead. O'Rourke said after the race "Medals are very special and, winning a silver medal in a new Irish record, I would take every day of the week, I think when I look back on my career whenever it ends, the only thing that will count is medals because they go into the history books and can't be taken away". O'Rourke has now been the only Irish athlete to win medals at the European Athletics Championships in 2006 and 2010. She was greeted by her fans, the media and the sports minister Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who was a Teachta Dála for Dún Laoghaire from 1997 to 2011. She served as Government Chief Whip , Minister for Education and Science , Minister for Social and Family Affairs , Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport and Minister for Enterprise,...

 when she landed home on 2 August.

O'Rourke was selected to represent Europe in the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup (Formerly IAAF World Cup) making her the 5th Irish person and second female to be selected to represent Europe after John Treacy (7th in 1979), Eamonn Coghlan (Gold in 1981), John Doherty (Silver in 1991) and Sonia O'Sullivan (5th in 1994, and Gold in 1998). O'Rourke finished 5th in a time of 12.99 seconds. The winner was Sally Pearson in a time of 12.65.

After injury interrupted training O'Rourke competed in the 60m Hurdles at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 31st European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011.A record high of 630 athletes, representing 46 countries, were entered into the three-day competition. Twenty-six track and field events were contested at the...

 in Paris. She finished 2nd in her heat in 8.07 seconds and then ran a season's best of 7.98 to come 3rd in the semi final. O'Rourke finished 4th in the final, running another season's best of 7.96.

A the 2011 World Championships in Athletics
2011 World Championships in Athletics
The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011....

, O'Rourke finished second in her heat behind eventaul champion Sally Pearson of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 who clocked 12.53. O'Rourke withdrew from her semifinal citing injury. She clocked a seasonal best of 12.84 at La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Competition record

2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships (Paris)
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 31st European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011.A record high of 630 athletes, representing 46 countries, were entered into the three-day competition. Twenty-six track and field events were contested at the...

  • 4th place - 60 m Hurdles (7.96 SB)


2010 IAAF Continental Cup (Split)
2010 IAAF Continental Cup
The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 2008 when the IAAF revamped the competition format...

  • 5th place - 100 m Hurdles (12.99)


2010 European Championships (Barcelona)
2010 European Championships in Athletics
The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 27 July to 1 August 2010...

- 100 m Hurdles
2010 European Athletics Championships – Women's 100 metres hurdles
The women's 100 metres hurdles at the 2010 European Athletics Championships was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on 30 and 31 July.-Medalists:-Records:-Schedule:- Heat 1 :- Heat 2 :- Heat 3 :- Heat 4 :- Summary :-Semifinal 1:...

 (12.65 NR)

2009 World Championships (Berlin)
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....

  • 4th place - 100 m Hurdles
    2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres hurdles
    The women's 100 metres hurdles at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium 18 and 19 August.The world leader Lolo Jones had not qualified for the championships, but a number of athletes had also posted fast times and scored major victories on the World Athletics...

     (12.67 NR)


2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships (Turin) - 60 m Hurdles (7.97 SB)

2006 European Championships (Gothenburg)
2006 European Championships in Athletics
The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...

- 100 m Hurdles (12.72 NR)

2006 World Indoor Championships (Moscow)
2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olimpiyski Sport arena....

- 60 m Hurdles (7.84 NR)

2005 World University Games (Izmir) - 100 m Hurdles
Athletics at the 2005 Summer Universiade
The athletics competition in the 2005 Summer Universiade was held on the İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu in İzmir, Turkey, between 15 August and 20 August 2005.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics* - FIBU...

 (13.02)

2005 World University Games (Izmir) - 4x100 m
Athletics at the 2005 Summer Universiade
The athletics competition in the 2005 Summer Universiade was held on the İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu in İzmir, Turkey, between 15 August and 20 August 2005.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics* - FIBU...

 Relay

2003 European Athletics U23 Championships (Bydgoszcz)
2003 European Athletics U23 Championships
The 2003 European Athletics U23 Championships was held in Bydgoszcz, Poland at the Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium between 17–20 July 2003.- Men's :-Women's:-Medals table:-References:* . GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.*...

  • 4th Place - 100 m Hurdles (12.96 NR)

Personal bests

Event Best (seconds) Location Date
50 metre hurdles 6.80 Liévin
Liévin
Liévin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Overview:The city of Liévin is an old mining city of Pas-de-Calais. Near Lens, this modest-sized city nevertheless has several nursery schools, schools, colleges, a university, a swimming pool, a city library, a cultural and...

, France
3 March 2006
60 metre hurdles 7.84 Moscow, Russia 11 March 2006
100 metres
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

11.89 Bydgoszcz, Poland 10 June 2009
100 metre hurdles 12.65 Barcelona
2010 European Championships in Athletics
The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 27 July to 1 August 2010...

, Spain
31 July 2010

  • All information taken from IAAF profile.

National records

  • Outdoor
    • 100 metres hurdles - 12.65 (Barcelona, 31 July 2010)

  • Indoor
    • 60 metres hurdles - 7.84

See also

  • Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics
    Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics
    Ireland competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.Ireland's Olympic campaign for the 2004 Games was dogged with controversy from the start, with the disqualification of Cathal Lombard for failing a drug test for the drug EPO...

  • Ireland at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics
    Ireland at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics
    Ireland competed at the 2006 European Athletics Championships held in Sweden. Derval O'Rourke's silver medal, combined with a new national record, in the 100 metre hurdles was the highlight of the championship, which also saw a new women's 4 x 100 m relay national record and a national record...

  • Ireland at the 2008 Summer Olympics
    Ireland at the 2008 Summer Olympics
    Ireland competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China. It was the 19th Summer Games that Ireland has contested as a nation under the Olympic Council of Ireland.-Medalists:- Athletics:...


External links

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