Jenny Meadows
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Brenda "Jenny" Meadows (born 17 April 1981 in Wigan
) is a British
athlete. Her main event is the 800 m
, although she previously competed over the 400 m
.
She is the third-fastest British woman over 800 m, behind Kelly Holmes
and Kirsty Wade
.
on Frog Lane in Wigan
. At Liverpool Hope University
, she studied English with Physical Education and Recreation.
, helping to secure the gold medal
. In 2001, she finished 6th at the European Under 23 Championships, and gained a gold medal on the 4 x 400 m relay
.
In 2005, she made an attempt to run the qualifying time for the European Indoor Championships 800 m, but with little help from opposition, she failed to achieve fast times, front running and winning both her semifinal and final. It was this year that she really started to improve at 800 m outdoors, setting two personal bests, and finishing third at the AAAs.
. She set three personal bests in consecutive races outdoors, taking it down by over two seconds. She also finished 4th at the AAA Championships. Despite fastly improving at 800 m, Meadows still compete over 400 m, and won the Northern Counties 400m title.
Meadows started the 2007 indoor season in brilliant form. This was helped by the domestic rivalry between herself and another fast improving 400 m/800 m runner Marilyn Okoro
. Meadows set a new UK record over 600 m, and finished 2nd after Okoro at the British Indoor Championships. She ran under 2 minutes for the first time, when she won the Glasgow International. At the European Indoor Championships, Meadows found herself boxed, and only managed a 5th place.
At the outdoors AAA Championships, Meadows was the joint favourite, with Marilyn Okoro, over 800 m. Meadows and Okoro both took their normal tactic of sitting in the pack, and then attacking on the last bend, whilst Jemma Simpson
led the field. However, Simpson, who was coming back from injury, pulled away on the home straight, and took the title, with Meadows finishing in third place. This championships was the last before the first round of selection for the British Team at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
. Many thought that Simpson, Okoro and Meadows would all receive selection for the 800 m as they had achieved the A-Standard in 2007, but injured Rebecca Lyne
was just coming back, and as she had achieved the A-standard in the past 12 months, she was eligible for selection. However, there were only three spaces on the team, and one athlete would be disappointed. The team was announced with Simpson and Okoro receiving 800 m places, and Meadows was selected for the 4 x 400 m relay. The final 800 m place was left open for either Lyne or Meadows, and they would both compete at Crystal Palace before the final selection. At Crystal palace, Meadows finished ahead of Lyne, however it was obvious that Lyne was fast improving, setting a season's best. The final place went to Lyne, and Meadows was only going to compete in the relay. However, just before heading for the flight to Osaka, Lyne withdrew her place from the British team, as she had aggravated her injury. The final 800 m place, then went to Meadows.
At the championships, she qualified into the semi-finals, coming second in her heat with a new outside personal best time of 2:00.14. Fellow British athletes Marilyn Okoro and Jemma Simpson also qualified second in their heats, however Meadows had the fastest time of all three. All three British women failed to progress to the finals, despite both Okoro and Meadows receiving personal bests, and Meadows becoming the 8th fastest British woman of all time over 800 m.
Meadows started 2008 in fine style with wins including the AAA title beating Okoro. Selected for the World Indoor
team she ran a personal best indoors (1.59.71/3rd British all time list indoors) to make the final. In the final itself Meadows came 5th.
, Meadows ran brilliantly to win her first European Cup victory over 800 m. On 18 July 2008 Meadows improved her personal best in the 800 m to 1:59.11 at the Paris
Golden League
meeting. On 19 July 2008 her place in the Beijing 2008 Great Britain Olympic Team
was confirmed along with Marilyn Okoro and Jemma Simpson. Meadows qualified for the semi-final of the 800 m in the Olympic Games after finishing 3rd in her heat with a time of 2.00.33, and in the semi itself ran close to her personal best in a time of 1.59.43, finishing in 6th place.
Meadows had a successful indoor season during 2009 winning the UK Championships and European Indoor Trials, setting a new indoor personal best of 1.59.52 in the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix and finishing in 4th place in the European Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy.
, Germany
, in August was confirmed, along with Jemma Simpson and Marilyn Okoro. On 28 July 2009, Meadows set a new outdoor personal best of 1.58.63 at the IAAF Super Grand Prix, Herculis
, Monaco
. On August 19, Meadows took the bronze medal
in the 800 m World Championship finals in a new personal best of 1.57.93. In a quick BBC
interview after winning the bronze medal, Meadows commented: "It proves you should never say never, you should always believe in yourself. If you work hard and keep the faith, good things will happen."
at the World Indoor Championships in Doha on the 14th March 2010, setting a personal best and a new British indoor record of 1:58.43 which she previously set on 20 February 2010. At the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona
Meadows reached the final and came back with a bronze medal.
On 6 March 2011, she achieved Silver in the 800m and returned to the track an hour later to anchor the 4x400m relay team to another Silver in the European Indoor Championships in Paris.
Jenny Meadows also appeared on the BBC's "Mastermind" in 2011
, who played rugby league
for Wigan
and took part in the England 4 x 400 m team (an event she has taken part in).
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
athlete. Her main event is the 800 m
800 metres
The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...
, although she previously competed over the 400 m
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
.
She is the third-fastest British woman over 800 m, behind Kelly Holmes
Kelly Holmes
Dame Kelly Holmes, DBE, MBE is a retired British middle distance athlete. She specialised in the 800 metres and 1500 metres events and won a gold medal for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens...
and Kirsty Wade
Kirsty Wade
Kirsty Wade is a former middle distance runner, who was born as Kirsty McDermott.Wade competed for Wales in two Commonwealth Games winning a gold medal in the 800 metres at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia and gold medals in both the 800 and 1500 metres at the 1986 Commonwealth...
.
Early life
Meadows attended the Deanery High SchoolDeanery High School
The Deanery Church of England High School is a Secondary school in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It currently has around 1,600 pupils and it consistently gets good GCSE grades, amongst the best in the Wigan borough...
on Frog Lane in Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
. At Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University is a university in Liverpool, England. Two of its three founding colleges were established in 1844 and 1856, the third opening in the 1960s. It is the only ecumenical university in Europe. Based on two campuses, the main campus is located in Childwall and the second...
, she studied English with Physical Education and Recreation.
Schools championships
Jenny Meadows (AKA Jennifer Meadows) was the winner in the English Schools Junior Championships in 800 m 1995. In 1998, she was 3rd at the AAA Junior Indoor Championships over 400 m. She also made her junior international debut and finished second in the English Schools Championships.GB team
In 2000, she ran the fastest leg for the Great British team at the World Junior ChampionshipsIAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics
The IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics are the world championships for junior aged athletes athletes, organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It is held biennially since 1986.-Championships:-Men:-Women:-External links:* at...
, helping to secure the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
. In 2001, she finished 6th at the European Under 23 Championships, and gained a gold medal on the 4 x 400 m relay
4 x 400 metres relay
The 4 x 400 meters relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners who each complete 400 meters or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, the first 500 meters is run in lanes...
.
Senior career
In 2004, Meadows finished third in the AAA Indoor 400 m and at the World Indoor championships, ran the anchor leg for the British relay team, however they did not proceed past the heats.In 2005, she made an attempt to run the qualifying time for the European Indoor Championships 800 m, but with little help from opposition, she failed to achieve fast times, front running and winning both her semifinal and final. It was this year that she really started to improve at 800 m outdoors, setting two personal bests, and finishing third at the AAAs.
2006 Commonwealth Games
In 2006, Meadows set another personal best, finishing third at the AAA indoor 800 m, managing to hold off Karen Harewood. At the World Indoor Championships, she managed to make the semi-finals over 800 m, and ran in the 4 x 400 m relay, despite most of the British team choosing to compete at that year's Commonwealth GamesAthletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the athletics events were held in Melbourne, Australia from 19 March to 25 March 2006. A total of 47 events were contested, of which 24 by male and 23 by female athletes. Furthermore, three men's and three women's disability events were held within the programme...
. She set three personal bests in consecutive races outdoors, taking it down by over two seconds. She also finished 4th at the AAA Championships. Despite fastly improving at 800 m, Meadows still compete over 400 m, and won the Northern Counties 400m title.
Meadows started the 2007 indoor season in brilliant form. This was helped by the domestic rivalry between herself and another fast improving 400 m/800 m runner Marilyn Okoro
Marilyn Okoro
Marilyn Chinwenwa Okoro is a British athlete of Igbo Nigerian ancestry. She received a bronze medal for the 800 metres at both the 2007 and 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. She was on the bronze winning 4 × 400 m relay at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics...
. Meadows set a new UK record over 600 m, and finished 2nd after Okoro at the British Indoor Championships. She ran under 2 minutes for the first time, when she won the Glasgow International. At the European Indoor Championships, Meadows found herself boxed, and only managed a 5th place.
At the outdoors AAA Championships, Meadows was the joint favourite, with Marilyn Okoro, over 800 m. Meadows and Okoro both took their normal tactic of sitting in the pack, and then attacking on the last bend, whilst Jemma Simpson
Jemma Simpson
Jemma Louise Simpson is a Cornish and British athlete who competes in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. She is the current British champion over 800m, winning both 2007, 2009 and 2010 British Championships...
led the field. However, Simpson, who was coming back from injury, pulled away on the home straight, and took the title, with Meadows finishing in third place. This championships was the last before the first round of selection for the British Team at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
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...
. Many thought that Simpson, Okoro and Meadows would all receive selection for the 800 m as they had achieved the A-Standard in 2007, but injured Rebecca Lyne
Becky Lyne
Rebecca "Becky" Lyne , is an English middle-distance runner, specialising in 800 and 1,500 metre races.Lyne attended Tapton School in Sheffield ....
was just coming back, and as she had achieved the A-standard in the past 12 months, she was eligible for selection. However, there were only three spaces on the team, and one athlete would be disappointed. The team was announced with Simpson and Okoro receiving 800 m places, and Meadows was selected for the 4 x 400 m relay. The final 800 m place was left open for either Lyne or Meadows, and they would both compete at Crystal Palace before the final selection. At Crystal palace, Meadows finished ahead of Lyne, however it was obvious that Lyne was fast improving, setting a season's best. The final place went to Lyne, and Meadows was only going to compete in the relay. However, just before heading for the flight to Osaka, Lyne withdrew her place from the British team, as she had aggravated her injury. The final 800 m place, then went to Meadows.
At the championships, she qualified into the semi-finals, coming second in her heat with a new outside personal best time of 2:00.14. Fellow British athletes Marilyn Okoro and Jemma Simpson also qualified second in their heats, however Meadows had the fastest time of all three. All three British women failed to progress to the finals, despite both Okoro and Meadows receiving personal bests, and Meadows becoming the 8th fastest British woman of all time over 800 m.
Meadows started 2008 in fine style with wins including the AAA title beating Okoro. Selected for the World Indoor
2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2008.-Bid:Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.-Men:...
team she ran a personal best indoors (1.59.71/3rd British all time list indoors) to make the final. In the final itself Meadows came 5th.
2008 Olympics
On 21 June 2008 in AnnecyAnnecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
, Meadows ran brilliantly to win her first European Cup victory over 800 m. On 18 July 2008 Meadows improved her personal best in the 800 m to 1:59.11 at the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Golden League
IAAF Golden League
The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations...
meeting. On 19 July 2008 her place in the Beijing 2008 Great Britain Olympic Team
Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Great Britain competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The United Kingdom was represented by the British Olympic Association , and the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB. Britain is one of only five NOCs to have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1896...
was confirmed along with Marilyn Okoro and Jemma Simpson. Meadows qualified for the semi-final of the 800 m in the Olympic Games after finishing 3rd in her heat with a time of 2.00.33, and in the semi itself ran close to her personal best in a time of 1.59.43, finishing in 6th place.
Meadows had a successful indoor season during 2009 winning the UK Championships and European Indoor Trials, setting a new indoor personal best of 1.59.52 in the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix and finishing in 4th place in the European Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy.
2009 World Championships
On 27 July 2009, her place in the Great Britain Team for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin2009 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....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, in August was confirmed, along with Jemma Simpson and Marilyn Okoro. On 28 July 2009, Meadows set a new outdoor personal best of 1.58.63 at the IAAF Super Grand Prix, Herculis
Herculis
The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League.-World records:...
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
. On August 19, Meadows took the bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
in the 800 m World Championship finals in a new personal best of 1.57.93. In a quick BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
interview after winning the bronze medal, Meadows commented: "It proves you should never say never, you should always believe in yourself. If you work hard and keep the faith, good things will happen."
2010 World Indoor Championships & European Championships
Meadows started the season in great form and on 20 February 2010 broke the British indoor 800 m record, formerly held by Kelly Holmes, with a 1:59:11 in Birmingham. She won silverSilver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
at the World Indoor Championships in Doha on the 14th March 2010, setting a personal best and a new British indoor record of 1:58.43 which she previously set on 20 February 2010. At the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
Meadows reached the final and came back with a bronze medal.
2011 European Indoor Championships
Jenny Meadows spent December (2010) and January (2011) training at Club La Santa in Lanzarote and moved onto South Africa to continue training with her physiotherapy and fitness team Harris & Ross as she aims to reach the World Outdoor Championships in South Korea.On 6 March 2011, she achieved Silver in the 800m and returned to the track an hour later to anchor the 4x400m relay team to another Silver in the European Indoor Championships in Paris.
2011 National Championships
On the 31st July 2011, at the age of 30, Jenny finally won her first national outdoor senior title with an 800m victory at the Aviva National Championships in Birmingham, to become National Champion.Non-competitive career
Jenny Meadows used to be head athletics coach for Manchester City Council. She has appeared on the BBC's "A Question of Sport" in Matt Dawson's team on 13 March 2010.Jenny Meadows also appeared on the BBC's "Mastermind" in 2011
Personal life
She married Trevor Painter in 2006. Painter is also her coach and a former 400 m sprinterSprint (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...
, who played rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
for Wigan
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
and took part in the England 4 x 400 m team (an event she has taken part in).