Debbie Flintoff-King

Debbie Flintoff-King

Personal information
Born	1960
Medal record Women's Athletics Competitor for Australia Olympic Games Gold 1988 Seoul 400 m hurdles World Championships Silver 1987 Rome 400 m hurdles Commonwealth Games Gold 1982 Brisbane 400 m hurdles Silver 1982 Brisbane 4x400m relay Gold 1986 Edinburgh 400 m Gold 1986 Edinburgh 400 m hurdles Silver 1986 Edinburgh 4x400m relay Silver 1990 Auckland 400 m hurdles Silver 1990 Auckland 4x400m relay

Debra ("Debbie") Lee Flintoff-King (OAM), born 20 April 1960 in Melbourne, Victoria, is a retired Australian athlete, and winner of the women's 400 m hurdles event at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Athletics career

She made her international debut in Brisbane at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, winning the 400m hurdles in a Commonwealth record time of 55.89.

Flintoff finished sixth in the inaugural event at the 1984 Summer Olympics hosted by Los Angeles. In 1986, after setting Australian records at both the 400m flat and 400m hurdles during the year, she won both events at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.

In 1987, she won a silver medal at the 1987 World Championships and became the first Australian athlete to win an IAAF Grand Prix Final, taking out her specialty 400m Hurdles event.

In 1988, she won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, despite having just received news of her sister, Noeline's death. Her winning time of 53.17 seconds still stands as the Australian record in 2011.

Flintoff-King was one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She carried the Olympic Torch at the stadium, as one of the runners for the final segment, before the lighting of the Olympic Flame.

Married to her coach Phil King with three children, Flintoff-King coached Australian sprinter Lauren Hewitt in the early 1990s and has mentored World Champion Jana Rawlinson.

References

• Athletics Gold Profile
• Athletics Australia Profile
• ICMI Speakers Profile

Sporting positions
Preceded by Sabine Busch	Women's 400m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1988	Succeeded by Sandra Farmer-Patrick