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Elizabeth Gleadle

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Elizabeth Gleadle
Personal information
Born (1988-12-05) December 5, 1988 (age 35)
Vancouver, British Columbia
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Country Canada
SportAthletics
EventJavelin
Achievements and titles
Personal bests64.83m NR, Kawasaki, 2015
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Canada
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Javelin throw

Elizabeth "Liz" Gleadle (born December 5, 1988 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian track and field athlete competing in the javelin throw. She competed in the javelin throw event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing 12th in the finals.[1]

Life and career

Elizabeth Gleadle was born in Vancouver, on December 5, 1988 to parents Dan and Sonia. Her parents enrolled her in almost every sport available throughout elementary school, including playing fastball for the Vancouver Wildcats Rep fastball team as a pitcher. In 2002, while in grade 8 at Kitsilano Secondary School, Liz threw javelin in Caroline Wittrin’s gym class. That year she won the Vancouver City’s with a throw of 17 metres. In 2004, while in grade 10, Bruce Miller, a parent helping coach the high school team, coached Liz to place 3rd at BC High School Championships, win the BC Youth Championships, and win the Canadian Youth Championships. In the fall of 2004, Elizabeth decided to concentrate on track and field, and joined the Vancouver Thunderbirds Track and Field Club with Coach Laurier Primeau. This was the first individual sport Elizabeth had pursued. After a couple months of winter training, she decided to focus solely on javelin. In the summer of 2005 she was the BC and Canadian Youth Champion, and made the World Youth Team to compete in Morocco, where she threw 50.51m, breaking the Canadian Youth Record and finishing 5th.

Her 2005 summer performances caught the attention of many. She was pursued by many NCAA Division 1 schools offering her full ride scholarships, however she stayed in Vancouver and competed for the University of British Columbia, in order to continue training with her coach and remain close to family and friends. Over the course of her university career, she won the NAIA Championships each of the four times she entered and set the NAIA record two times.

In the spring of 2011, Liz decided to take a break from her kinesiology degree at UBC, and commit herself full-time to training. She moved to the National Training Centre for throws in Lethbridge, Alberta with coach Lawrence Steinke. After the London Olympics, she resumed her studies while also training in Lethbridge.[2] Liz missed the entire 2013 competitive season due to a back injury, but after a rigorous training program she was able to return to action in 2015. She placed 5th at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games (throwing 60.69 meters). Liz broke her own Canadian record in May, 2015 (throwing 64.83 meters) while winning the Golden Grand Prix meet in Kawasaki, Japan. On Sept. 13, 2014 she placed 3rd at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakesh, Morocco. On July 4, 2015 Liz won the 2015 Canadian Track and Field Championships throwing 59 meters despite less-than-ideal conditions.

During the 2016 Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver, one of Gleadle's throws went out of bounds and narrowly missed a cameraman, piercing his shirt. The cameraman finished shooting the event and she apologized immediately after she said "I’m not going to throw a javelin at someone and not see if they’re OK. I don’t feel like that’s polite.."[3]

In July 2016 she was officially named to Canada's Olympic team.[4]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
2005 World Youth Championships Marrakech, Morocco 5th 50.53 m
2006 World Junior Championships Beijing, China 12th 48.08 m
2008 NACAC U-23 Championships Toluca, Mexico 1st 51.76 m A
2009 Universiade Belgrade, Serbia 6th 58.21 m
2010 NACAC U23 Championships Miramar, Florida, United States 1st 53.72 m
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 12th 58.78 m
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 5th 60.69 m
Continental Cup Marrakech, Morocco 3rd 61.38 m1
2015 Pan American Games Toronto, Canada 1st 62.83 m
World Championships Beijing, China 11th 59.82 m
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 16th (q) 60.28 m

1Representing the Americas

References

  1. ^ "Elizabeth Gleadle". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  2. ^ Official Website - Biography
  3. ^ Steve Ewen (June 18, 2016). "TV cameraman clipped by javelin at Harry Jerome Track Classic". The Province. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Hossain, Asif (11 July 2016). "Athletics Canada nominates largest squad to Team Canada for Rio". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
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