Shelley Holroyd (born 17 May 1973) is a British Olympic

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

er.

Athletics career

Holroyd was the sixth British javelin thrower to throw over 60 metres (1993) and the first thrower to reach an

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

since

Tessa Sanderson Theresa Ione Sanderson (born 14 March 1956) is a British former javelin thrower. She appeared in every Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics from 1976 to 1996, winning the gold medal in the Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Women's ja ...

. At the age of 23 she had already competed in every major championship. She started throwing at the age of 12 and at 13 threw 37m58cm to win the English Schools Championships. At the age of 16 Holroyd threw 52m50 and became a senior international athlete. In 1992 she broke the English Schools record with 56m50 and it is still the longest throw in the history of the English Schools female javelin. Later that year Holroyd was picked for the GB Junior team and subsequently came fourth at the World Junior Championships (1992) and was ranked Britain's number one thrower. In 1993 Holroyd threw 60m10cm to win the World Championship Trials and qualified for the World Championships, Stuttgart. In March 1995 Holroyd was involved in a car accident that was deemed to be the end of her throwing career but she overcame her injuries to start training in July the same year. In December she was involved in a freak training accident and broke her right elbow. Once again the injury threatened her career. February 1996 saw Holroyd come back from her injury and in July 1996 she qualified for the 1996 Great Britain Olympic team. At the 1997 World Championships in Athens Holroyd became ill during the competition after having an allergic reaction to an injection and had to pull out. It was another year plagued with injuries. She represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the javelin, at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. Eight years later she competed in the javelin again at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

. After a 17-year spell as an international athlete Holroyd retired in 2006 due to injury and moved into coaching.

Achievements

*1989 European Junior Championships (

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

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) *1991 European Junior Championships (

Thessaloniki, Greece Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

) 7th *1994 Commonwealth Games (

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada) Withdrew due to illness *1997 World Championships (

Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

) *1998 Commonwealth Games (

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population of 2,075,600 . Greater Kuala Lum ...

) 5th *2006 Commonwealth Games (

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) 10th

Domestic championships

*English Schools Champion 1986, 1991, 1992 *North of England Champion 1991, 1992, 1993, 2005 *UK Championships 1989 3rd, 1992 2nd, 1997 2nd *AAAs Champion 1993, 1994, 1998, 2005, 2004

References

External links

Official website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holroyd, Shelley 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Salford British female javelin throwers English female javelin throwers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games athletes for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain 21st-century English sportswomen 20th-century English sportswomen