Katharine Merry

Katharine Merry (born 21 September 1974 in Dunchurch

Dunchurch

Dunchurch is a civil parish and historic village on the south-western outskirts of Rugby in Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 2,842 in the village....

, near Rugby

Rugby, Warwickshire

Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, in the West Midlands of England, on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...

) is a former English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 female sprinter

Sprint (race)

Sprints are short running races in athletics.-The start:Starting blocks are used for all sprint and relay events. The starting blocks consist of two adjustable footplates attached to a rigid frame. Races commence with the firing of the starter's gun. The starting commands are "On your marks" and...

.

A member of the Birchfield Harriers

Birchfield Harriers

Birchfield Harriers is an athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England.Their previous home, at nearby Perry Barr, is Perry Barr Stadium...

 athletics club, Merry won a bronze medal for the 400 metre sprint at the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...

.

Merry had a unique career that spanned 20 years. She was the fastest girl in the world aged 14 years old, and started her international GB career aged just 13, and stayed on the junior team for a record 6 years, which included 5 Junior Championships winning a total of 5 medals.

Katharine Merry (born 21 September 1974 in Dunchurch

Dunchurch

Dunchurch is a civil parish and historic village on the south-western outskirts of Rugby in Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 2,842 in the village....

, near Rugby

Rugby, Warwickshire

Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, in the West Midlands of England, on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...

) is a former English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 female sprinter

Sprint (race)

Sprints are short running races in athletics.-The start:Starting blocks are used for all sprint and relay events. The starting blocks consist of two adjustable footplates attached to a rigid frame. Races commence with the firing of the starter's gun. The starting commands are "On your marks" and...

.

Biography

A member of the Birchfield Harriers

Birchfield Harriers

Birchfield Harriers is an athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England.Their previous home, at nearby Perry Barr, is Perry Barr Stadium...

 athletics club, Merry won a bronze medal for the 400 metre sprint at the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...

.

Merry had a unique career that spanned 20 years. She was the fastest girl in the world aged 14 years old, and started her international GB career aged just 13, and stayed on the junior team for a record 6 years, which included 5 Junior Championships winning a total of 5 medals. She transferred into a successful senior athlete with her Olympic medal in Sydney, in the 'Race of the Games' and the following year became World number 1. She was coached by fellow Olympic medallist Linford Christie

Linford Christie

Linford Christie OBE is a former athlete who specialised in the 100 metres. He is the only British man to win a gold medal in the 100 m at all four major competitions: the Olympic Games and the World, Commonwealth, and European championships...

 in his Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the...

 based training squad which included fellow Olympic medallist Darren Campbell. She is also with Chistie's sports agency Nuff Respect. Merry still holds various UK age record bests, including U/13 High Jump and several sprints. Also world age records, including aged 14, 7.35 for 60m indoors.

After suffering from a bone spur

Bone spur

Osteophytes, also known as bone spurs, are bony projections that usually form along joints.-Pathophysiology:Bone spurs form due to the increase in a damaged joint's surface area. This is most commonly from the onset of arthritis. Bone spurs usually limit joint movement and typically cause pain...

 growth on her right heel bone, and after 3 operations, in July 2005 Merry announced her official retirement from athletics. She had been suffering from the injury since 2001 and was struggling to get it healed fully. It had prevented her from getting back into proper training meaning she could not get back to her year 2000 form. Despite this, she still ended the 2001 season as the world's fastest female 400m runner.

After retirement

Merry now mentors British Junior athletes, and works in the media on Radio and TV including presenting for the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...

 around the 2006 Commonwealth Games

2006 Commonwealth Games

The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...

,and also is a regular part of BBC 5 Live, including working in Beijing at the Olympics for the BBC.. She also presents for Sky TV and Channel Five. Currently she is the solo infield presenter for all the British Grand Prix meetings. Merry also does corporate speaking engagements, whilst running a free sports mentoring website elitementor.com with Christie and Campbell.

Merry and her husband, French

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...

 athlete Olivier Jean-Theodore, live in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...

.

Achievements

Year	Tournament	Venue	Result	Event
1990	IAAF World Junior Championships	Plovdiv Plovdiv Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, with a population of 380,312. Known in ancient times as Philippoupolis, it is the administrative center of Plovdiv Province in southern Bulgaria and three municipalities and Bulgaria's Yuzhen tsentralen planning region , as well as the... , Bulgaria Bulgaria Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...	2nd	4x100m Relay
1992	IAAF World Junior Championships	Seoul Seoul Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities. The Seoul National Capital Area, which includes the major port city of Incheon and most of Gyeonggi-do, has 24.5 million... , Korea Korea Korea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....	6th	100m
1993	European Junior Championships	San Sebastian San Sebastián Donostia-San Sebastián is the capital city of the province of Guipuscoa, in the Basque Country, Spain. Locals call themselves donostiarras, both in Basque and Spanish... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...	2nd	100m
1993	European Junior Championships	San Sebastian San Sebastián Donostia-San Sebastián is the capital city of the province of Guipuscoa, in the Basque Country, Spain. Locals call themselves donostiarras, both in Basque and Spanish... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...	1st	200m
1993	European Junior Championships	San Sebastian San Sebastián Donostia-San Sebastián is the capital city of the province of Guipuscoa, in the Basque Country, Spain. Locals call themselves donostiarras, both in Basque and Spanish... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...	1st	4x100m Relay
1994	European Cup	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 .... , Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...	2nd	100m
1994	European Cup	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 .... , Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...	2nd	200m
1996	1996 Summer Olympics 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....	Atlanta, United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	8th	4x100m Relay
1998	European Championships 1998 European Championships in Athletics The 17th European Athletics Championships were held from August 18 to August 23, 1998 in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary.-Track:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Field:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Track:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Field:...	Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2009, Budapest had 1,712,210 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s... , Hungary Hungary Hungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...	3rd	4x400m Relay
1999	IAAF World Championships	Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos or... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...	5th	400m
2000	2000 Summer Olympics 2000 Summer Olympics The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...	Sydney Sydney Sydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...	3rd	400m

Personal Bests

Date	Event	Venue	Time
	200m		22.76 22.83 (indoors) UK Record
	400m		49.59 50.53 (indoors)

External links

• Merry at Nuff Respect, Linford Christie
  Linford Christie
  Linford Christie OBE is a former athlete who specialised in the 100 metres. He is the only British man to win a gold medal in the 100 m at all four major competitions: the Olympic Games and the World, Commonwealth, and European championships...
  
  's agency