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Goldie Sayers

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Goldie Sayers
Sayers setting a new UK javelin record at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix, 2012
Personal information
Birth nameKatherine Dinah Sayers
Born (1982-07-16) 16 July 1982 (age 42)[1]
Newmarket, Suffolk, England[1]
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1]
Weight11 st (70 kg)[1]
Sport
Country United Kingdom
SportAthletics
EventJavelin
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Javelin
European Cup Winter Throwing
Gold medal – first place 2008 Split Javelin
Silver medal – second place 2007 Yalta Javelin
Silver medal – second place 2012 Bar Javelin
European Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2001 Grosseto Javelin
Updated on 11 August 2012

Katherine Dinah "Goldie" Sayers (born 16 July 1982) is a British former javelin thrower, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She was born in Newmarket, Suffolk, England. On 20 May 2007, Sayers set a new British record in the javelin at 65.05 m (213 ft 5 in), 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 63.59 m. Defeated rivals included European champion and Olympic silver medallist Steffi Nerius and world champion Barbora Špotáková.

Early life

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Sayers was educated at Fairstead House School, Newmarket, and at The King's School, Ely.[2] She played hockey, netball and tennis at county level, and was an under 11 national table tennis champion.[3]

Career highlights

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Goldie Sayers in 2009

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 to 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 but she did finish fifth at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.[4]

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

Sayers originally finished fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, setting a new British record of 65.75 m. However in 2016 the Russian third placed athlete, Mariya Abakumova, tested positive for banned substances after a re-analysis of her sample, meaning that Sayers would be upgraded to the bronze medal position. She eventually received her Olympic bronze medal on 20 July 2019 at the London Anniversary Games, 11 years later.[5]

She improved her British record to 66.17m at the London Grand Prix Diamond League meeting in London in 2012.[6]

On 4 July 2012, Sayers carried the Olympic Torch through Bourne in Lincolnshire.[7]

On 7 August 2012, Sayers competed in the women's javelin at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but had sustained an injury to her right arm and was unable to feel her throwing hand. She threw three attempts but failed to throw the qualification distance and so stepped over the line and was knocked out of the competition without recording a mark.[8][9]

Sayers subsequently had elbow surgery which involved a ligament being removed from her right wrist and inserted in her left arm. She lost her funding from UK Athletics at the end of 2014, but philanthropist Barrie Wells agreed to fund Sayers' training in exchange for helping heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson improve her javelin throwing.[10]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing the  United Kingdom and  England
1998 World Junior Championships Annecy, France 22nd (q) 45.54 m (old spec.)
1999 World Youth Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 5th 47.86 m
2000 World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 6th 51.52 m
2001 European Junior Championships Grosseto, Italy 2nd 55.40 m
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, United Kingdom 6th 51.32 m
2003 European U23 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 11th 53.90 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 20th (q) 59.11 m
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 12th 54.44 m
Universiade İzmir, Turkey 4th 56.25 m
2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 12th 54.70 m
Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia 5th 57.29 m
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 18th (q) 57.23 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 3rd 65.75 m
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 13th (q) 58.98 m
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 10th 58.18 m
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 4th 63.01 m
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom – NM
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 7th 57.68 m
European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 8th 58.33 m
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 26th (q) 58.28 m
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 26th (q) 53.56 m

Personal life

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Sayers' father, Pete Sayers, who died in 2005, was a bluegrass musician and the first Englishman to appear at the Grand Ole Opry.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Meet Team GB". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  2. ^ "My School Sport: Goldie Sayers". London: The Daily Telegraph. 10 August 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  3. ^ Powell, David (21 June 2007). "Goldilocks bears burden of flying flag for country". Times Online. London: Times Newspapers. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  4. ^ "Commonwealth Games Results". BBC Sport. 19 March 2006.
  5. ^ "Anniversary Games: Goldie Sayers receives medal 11 years on". 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Goldie Sayers breaks GB javelin record at London Grand Prix". BBC Sport. 14 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Goldie Sayers – Olympic Torchbearers – 2012 Olympics". London 2012. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Women's Javelin Throw – Olympic Athletics – London 2012". Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Olympics athletics: GB's Goldie Sayers' emotional javelin exit". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  10. ^ Gibson, Owen (9 February 2015). "Unconventional 'stroke of genius' boosts Britain's bid for heptathlon gold". theguardian.com. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  11. ^ Turnbull, Simon (19 August 2007). "Athletics: Goldie girl with the Midas touch who aims to throw caution to the wind". The Independent. Independent News and Media Limited. Retrieved 10 November 2008.[dead link‍]
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