Michelle "Shelly" Jenneke (/ˈɛnəˌkʌ/ JEN-ə-kuh;[1] born 23 June 1993) is an Australian hurdler and model. She won a silver medal for the 100 m hurdles at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and the 100 m hurdles at the 2016 Australian Athletics Championships to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. In 2012, she received worldwide media attention after her pre-race warm-up dance went viral on the internet and was featured in the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Michelle Jenneke
Personal information
NicknameShelly
Born (1993-06-23) 23 June 1993 (age 31)
Kenthurst, New South Wales, Australia
Height172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Sport
CountryAustralia Australia
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 metres hurdles
Sprint medley relay
ClubSydney University Athletics Club
TeamAthletics Australia
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals
World finals
National finals
Personal best100 m hurdles 12.65 (Hengelo, Netherlands 2024)
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Summer Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Gwangju 100 m hurdles
Youth Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2010 Singapore 100 m hurdles
Oceania Youth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Sydney 100 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2010 Sydney 4×100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Sydney 100 m

Early life and education

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Born in Kenthurst, New South Wales, Australia,[2] she attended The Hills Grammar School.[3]

She studied mechatronics[4] at Sydney University, a combination of mechanical and electric engineering.[5] In an interview, she described her hobbies as Australian rules football, soccer, quad biking, climbing trees, and handball.[3]

Career

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Jenneke has trained with coach Mick Zisti as a hurdler from the age of 10 at the Cherrybrook Athletics Club.[2][6] She competed at the Canberra-hosted 2008 Pacific School Games in the 90 and 200 metres hurdles.[6][7]

In March 2010, Jenneke finished first in the 100 m hurdles, breaking the national record in the women's sprint medley relay at the 2010 Australian Junior Championships.[8] She competed in the 2011 Pirtek Athletic Allstars event.[9] In July of that year, she was on Australia's team at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games, running the 100 m hurdles and the women's medley relay. In the hurdles, she came second with a time of 13.46 and set a personal best after winning her heat, and the medley relay team came fourth.[10][11][12][13][14][15] Her medal was the first Australia won at the Games in athletics.[16]

In 2011, Jenneke competed at the New Zealand hosted Cooks Classic. At the 2011 Australian Junior Championships, she had a first-place hurdles finish in the under-20 group.[17] In April 2011 she competed at the 89th Australian Athletics Championships and finished third in the 100 m hurdles behind world champion Sally Pearson.[18]

On 15 July 2012, Jenneke finished fifth in the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships 100 m hurdles.[19] After the competition, a video of her 100 m hurdles taken during the heats race, was subsequently posted on a video-sharing site, raising her profile around the world.[20][21]

She was selected as a member of Australia's 2014 Commonwealth Games team.[22] There Jenneke came fifth in the final with a time of 13.36 and was the youngest competitor. She is the second-fastest 100 metre hurdle woman in Australian history.[23]

Jenneke's personal best is 12.66 set at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, in the same heat that saw the world record fall to Tobi Amusan.[24] She finished second at nationals[25] to qualify for the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. Jenneke got through the heats to make the semi-finals. She finished sixth in her semi and in 18th place overall.

In March 2016, Jenneke represented Australia at the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon and finished 10th. The next month she won the Australian National Championship 100 m hurdles final with a time of 12.93, qualifying her for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[26] In August, Jenneke competed in the Olympics but was unable to get out of the heats, finishing in sixth with a time of 13.26. She would have needed a near personal best to qualify as the third qualifying time in her heat was 12.85. Australian head coach Craig Hilliard was critical of her performance.[27]

In the Australian University Games at Perth, Jenneke tried her hand at the 100 metres sprint, getting through to the final, and the long jump where she finished second with a distance of 5.61 metres and her own event the 110 metres hurdles, which she won with a time of 14.19 seconds.[28]

In August 2017, Jenneke competed in her second World Championships and got through the heats to the semi-finals, finishing in 7th with a time of 13.250. She would have needed a near personal best to reach the final as the second qualifying time in her semi was 12.85. In the BBC's montage of events (the moments of the games as BBC presenter Gabby Logan called it) on the games' final evening Jenneke and her warm up jig was featured.

In April 2018, she represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games, finishing fourth at 13.07, after running a qualifying time of 12.99.[29]

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Jenneke fell over a hurdle during her 100m heat.[30]

Media coverage

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In July 2012, videos of Jenneke dancing during her pre-race warmup before the 100 m hurdles race at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Barcelona went viral on YouTube.[31] One clip received 19 million views by the following week and was featured on the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show.[32]

Jenneke acted in a short comedic video produced by the website The Chive titled Forever Alone Meets Michelle Jenneke, playing herself in a piece referencing her viral video.[33] The video had received over 10 million views on YouTube by 2014.[34]

In January 2013, Jenneke was ranked tenth on AskMen.com's 99 Most Desirable Women 2013.[35] She was featured in the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.[36][37]

In 2014, Jenneke was featured in a video-heavy mobile computing app on stretching techniques called Stretch with Michelle Jenneke.[38][39] Early the same year, she was a star in the Top Gear Sydney Festival, racing a Nissan GT-R.[40]

Athletic achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   Australia
2010 Oceania Youth Championships Sydney, Australia 3rd 100 m 12.15 s ( 0.5 m/s)
1st 100 m hurdles 14.12 s (−1.4 m/s)
1st 4 × 100 m relay 45.75 s
Youth Olympic Games Singapore 2nd 100 m hurdles 13.46
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 5th 100 m hurdles 13.54[41]
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 5th 100 m hurdles 13.36
2015 Universiade Gwangju, South Korea 3rd 100 m hurdles 12.94[42]
World Championships Beijing, China 18th (sf) 100 m hurdles 13.01
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 10th (h) 60 m hurdles 8.10
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 37th (h) 100 m hurdles 13.26[43]
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 21st (sf) 100 m hurdles 13.25
Universiade Taipei, Taiwan 8th 100 m hurdles 14.82
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 22nd (sf) 60 m hurdles 8.22
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 4th 100 m hurdles 13.07
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 11th (sf) 100 m hurdles 12.66
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 14th (sf) 100 m hurdles 12.80
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 16th (sf) 60 m hurdles 8.05
Olympic Games Paris, France 21st (rep) 100 m hurdles 13.86

Other career highlights

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Michelle Jenneke at the 2012 World Junior Championships
  • 1st place (100 m hurdles) – 2016 Australian National Championships (Olympic qualifying time, 12.93)
  • 1st place (100 m hurdles) – 2010 Australian Junior Championships
  • 1st place (4 × 100 m relay) – 2010 Australian Junior Championships (national record)
  • 4th place ("Swedish medley" relay) – 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, Singapore
  • 3rd place (100 m hurdles) – 2011 Australian Championships
  • 2nd place (100 m hurdles) – 2015 Australian Championships (12.82)[44]
  • Semifinal – 6th place (100 m hurdles) - 2015 World Championships Beijing (13.01) (fastest reaction time, 0.122, in all semi-finals)[45]
  • Semifinal – 10th place (60 m hurdles) - 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Portland, USA (8.10, personal best)[46]
  • Heats – 6th in heat (100 m hurdles) - 2016 Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (13.26)
  • Semifinal - 7th in semi (100 m hurdles) - 2017 World Championships, London (13.250)[47]

References

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  1. ^ "Jenneke Michelle". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b Pranesh Nageshwar (23 August 2010), "Hills' Michelle Jennecke delighted at silver medal win", Hills Shire Times, archived from the original on 29 July 2012, retrieved 26 July 2012
  3. ^ a b Nick Smart (20 July 2012), "Aussie Michelle Jenneke the world's favourite new hurdler", The Daily Telegraph
  4. ^ News Corp Australia Network (12 February 2013). "Aussie hurdler Michelle Jenneke among athletes featured in Sports Illustrated". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  5. ^ News Corp Australia. "Aussie hurdler Michelle Jenneke among athletes featured in Sports Illustrated". Herald Sun.
  6. ^ a b Nageshwar, Pranesh (25 November 2008). "Three racing for glory". Hills Shire Times. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  7. ^ Nageshwar, Pranesh. "Cherrybrook athletes shine". Hills Shire Times. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Michelle Jenneke". 2010 Australian Youth Olympic Team. Australian Olympic Committee. July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  9. ^ Nageshwar, Pransh (7 September 2010). "Sprinter aims for Games". Hills Shire Times. Sydney, Australia. p. 110. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Shelly's super silver". Athletics Australia. 21 August 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Dominican athletes win medals in Singapore". Dominican Today. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  12. ^ "Aussie youths continue medal run". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 22 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Skeen strikes – Lands historic 100 m gold at Youth Olympics". Jamaica Observer. 22 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  14. ^ "www.smh.com.au – Parnov named in Youth Olympic team". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  15. ^ Casey, Michael (21 August 2010). "IOC: Many countries interested in youth games". USA Today. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  16. ^ "Jenneke wrests silver medal". Hills Shire Times. Sydney, Australia. 24 August 2010. p. 82. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  17. ^ Alan Adamson (15 March 2011). "Langton-Burnell one to watch at school's champs". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  18. ^ 89th Australian Athletics Championships – 15/04/2011 to 17/04/2011. Athletics.com.au. Retrieved on 22 September 2016.
  19. ^ "IAAF 2012 World Championship Results" (PDF). IAAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2012.
  20. ^ "Australian Runner Has the World's Sexiest Pre-Race Routine [VIDEO]". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  21. ^ Jauregui, Andres (19 July 2012). "WATCH: Athlete's Sexy Warm Up". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  22. ^ Pearson, Matt (13 June 2014). "10 per cent of Australia's Commmonwealth Games Squad Have Sydney Uni Connections". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
  23. ^ Top-Lists. All-Athletics.com. Retrieved on 22 September 2016.
  24. ^ Michelle Jenneke | Profile Archived 17 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. iaaf.org. Retrieved on 22 September 2016.
  25. ^ Bankstown Sports Athletics Club (29 March 2015). "Australian Championships – Michelle Jenneke". Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2015 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ "Michelle Jenneke". 2016 Australian Olympic Team. Australian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  27. ^ Rio Olympics 2016: Coach tells hurdler Michelle Jenneke to sort priorities Archived 24 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Smh.com.au (21 August 2016). Retrieved on 22 September 2016.
  28. ^ "Australian University Games – Athletics". www.australianunigames.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  29. ^ "Michelle Jenneke falls agonisingly short on day nine of the Commonwealth Games". Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  30. ^ "Michelle Jenneke in brutal development as Aussie elevated to final after race 'madness'". Yahoo Sports. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  31. ^ Roberts, Christine (20 July 2012). "Hurdler's hot warmup dance wins her heat". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  32. ^ Kelly, Heath (26 July 2012). "Aussie hurdler Michelle Jenneke becomes worldwide sensation with pre-race dance routine". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  33. ^ Agomuoh, Fionna (14 December 2012). "Michelle Jenneke stars in new video doing sexy warm up dance". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  34. ^ "Forever Alone meets Michelle Jenneke". YouTube. 13 December 2012. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  35. ^ "AskMen.com Top 99 Women of 2013 No. 10 Michelle Jenneke". San Francisco, California: Askmen.com. January 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  36. ^ Beattie, John (12 February 2013). "Michelle Jenneke Appears in 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue". NESN. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  37. ^ Dicker, Ron (13 February 2013). "Michelle Jenneke Sports Illustrated video: Australian hurdler jumps into swimsuit modeling". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  38. ^ O'Donnell, Jake (10 June 2014). "French Rugby Fan Flashes Us, Michelle Jenneke's Stretching App, Someone Hit 9 RBI, and Paul George Dissing LeBron". Sports Grid. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  39. ^ "Stretch". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  40. ^ "Michelle Jenneke Did Her Bouncy, Pre-Race Routine Again And It Was Spectacular". 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  41. ^ Results – Womens 100 m Hurdles – Athletics – Glasgow 2014 – Commonwealth Games Archived 25 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Sport.
  42. ^ Women's 100 m Hurdles Final World University Games Gwangju 2015 Archived 9 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. YouTube (10 July 2015). Retrieved on 22 September 2016.
  43. ^ Results – Womens 100 m Hurdles – Athletics – Rio 2016 – Olympics – BBC Sport Archived 6 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Bbc.co.uk (1 January 1970). Retrieved on 22 September 2016.
  44. ^ AthsAust (30 March 2015). "100m hurdles final – 2015 Australian Athletics Championships" – via YouTube.
  45. ^ 100 Metres Hurdles Result | 15th IAAF World Championships Archived 28 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine. iaaf.org. Retrieved on 22 September 2016.
  46. ^ 60 Metres Hurdles Summary | IAAF World Indoor Championships Archived 27 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. iaaf.org. Retrieved on 22 September 2016.
  47. ^ "Results - Athletics - BBC Sport". Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
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