Goldie Sayers

Goldie Sayers, born Katherine Dinah Sayers (born 16 July 1982), is a British javelin thrower. She was born in Newmarket, Suffolk, United Kingdom. On 20 May 2007, Sayers set a new UK record in the javelin (65.05), thus becoming the first British woman to throw over 65 metres since javelins were redesigned in 1999. Sayers set the record when competing for her university, Loughborough, at the Loughborough International match. She cemented this achievement at the Norwich Union Glasgow Grand Prix on 3 June 2007 where she beat a top-class international field in rainy conditions with a throw of 63.59m. Defeated rivals included European champion and Olympic silver medallist Steffi Nerius and world champion Barbora Špotáková.

Early life

Sayers was educated at The King's School, Ely.

Career highlights

Sayers first came to prominence when setting national junior records and winning national titles, in 2001. Sayers also served as the captain of Great Britain's women's under 20 team, this season. The following season, Sayers finished in sixth place at the Commonwealth Games.

From 2003-2007, Sayers won five consecutive national titles but had limited success at major championships, failing to make the final at her first Olympics in 2004 and finishing twelfth at both the 2005 World Championships and 2006 European Championships

The early 2007 season boded well for Sayers, setting two UK records and defeating high-class rivals, such as Germany's European champion Steffi Nerius and the Czech Republic's Barbora Špotáková, who went on to win the world title that season, at a championship where Sayers finished 18th in qualifying, with her worst result of the season: 57.23 m.

On March 15, 2008, Sayers won the European Cup of Winter Throwing title in Split, Croatia, with a throw of 63.65 m.

During the final at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China she set a new UK record with 65.75 m when finishing fourth.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing United Kingdom and England
2002	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	6th	51.32 m
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	20th (q)	59.11 m
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	12th	54.44 m
2006	European Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	12th	54.70 m
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	18th (q)	57.23 m
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, PR China	4th	65.75 m

Personal life

Sayers' father, Pete Sayers, who died in 2005, was a bluegrass musician who was the first Englishman to appear in Grand Ole Opry. He also appreared in the International Country Music Festival at Wembley, toured with George Hamilton IV and hosted a breakfast television programme in the United States. Goldie Sayers attended King's School, Ely. She played hockey, netball and tennis at county level, and was an under 11 national table tennis champion. She changed her name to Goldie by deed poll when she was 17 years' old.

Nickname

Sayers is fondly nicknamed the Suffolk Slinger by her fans.

References

• sports-reference