Catherine Ann Murphy (born 21 September 1975) is an English born, Welsh former athlete who competed mainly in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

and

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. She finished fourth in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, fourth in the

at the 2003 World Indoor Championships, and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2005 European Indoor Championships.

Career

Murphy was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

during 1975. Murphy won the 1991 English Schools 200m title in 25.0 and the 1993 English Schools 200m title in a wind-assisted 23.72. As a member of the London club

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers are a UK Athletics (sport), athletics club based in Hendon, north west London. Their home track is Barnet Copthall Stadium or (StoneX Stadium for sponsorship purposes). History Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers was fo ...

, she defeated club-mate

Simmone Jacobs Kim Simmone Geraldine Jacobs (born 5 September 1966) is a female retired British athlete who competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She represented Great Britain at four Olympic Games (1984–96), winning a bronze medal as a 17-year-old at ...

to win the 1995 AAA Championships 200m title in 23.40 secs, which qualified her for the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. The relay team finished the preliminary round in ninth place; eighth place would have qualified them for the finals. She finished fourth in the 200m final at the 1996 AAA Championships/Olympic trials. In 2001, Murphy became the first woman in history to win the 200m/400m double in the same year at the AAA Indoor Championships, winning in Welsh record times of 23.35 and 52.31. The 200m record still stands (as of 2018). While competing for the AAA Indoor Championships, Murphy was in her third year of law at

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

. Murphy was daunted to focus on the 400m over the 200m, but the events were too close to each other during the World Indoor Championships to compete in both. She decided to focus on the 400m for the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon. She went on to be a member of the British quartet that finished fifth in the 4 × 400m relay at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton. In the 400m she was third in her heat but had the 27th fastest time overall and did not advance to the semifinals. She hoped to medal in the 400m at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

since her rival Katharine Merry was injured, but finished sixth in the final. At the 2002 AAA Indoor Championships she was unable to try for a repeat of the double due to a change in the event schedule. At the Championships she finished the 400m semifinals in 53:06, which qualified her for the event finals and the European Indoor Championships. Murphy improved her Welsh indoor 400m record to 51.74 secs in the semifinals of the 2003 World Indoor Championships, a record that stood until Seren Bundy-Davies ran 51.72 in 2016. Murphy ran 51.99 for fourth in the final. The 4 × 400m relay finished with a time of 3:26.67. Natasha Danvers started the last leg in fourth but slid to sixth place. Murphy was named to the relay team in July 2004. At the

, she again finished fourth in the 4 × 400m relay, along with

Donna Fraser Donna Karen Fraser (born 7 November 1972) in Thornton Heath, Croydon is an English former athlete, who mainly competed in the 200 and 400 m. Biography An exceptional junior, Fraser won six English Schools 200 m titles (as well as a silver ...

Christine Ohuruogu Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu (born 17 May 1984) is a British former track and field athlete who specialised in the 400 metres, the event for which she is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion. The Olympic champion in 2008, and silver medali ...

and

Lee McConnell Lee McConnell (born 9 October 1978) is a retired Scottish athlete, who competed in the 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles having started her career as a high jumper. She is a three-time Olympian who represented Great Britain in 2004, 2008 and 2 ...

. The team advanced to the finals with a time of 3:26.99 in their heat. In the finals they ran a 3:25.12, finishing fourth. In 2010,

Crystal Cox Crystal Shinelle Cox (born March 28, 1979, in Norfolk, Virginia) is an American track and field athlete who was on the national team at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics and appeared as a contestant on the seventeenth season of the reality seri ...

, a member of the gold-medal US relay team, admitted to doping. In March 2010, the IAAF released a statement: "According to the IAAF Competition Rules in effect in 2004, the US relay team results will be disqualified accordingly." The statement prompted the chairman of UK Athletics to send a letter to Great Britain's relay team, congratulating them on their now bronze-medal finish. In the end, the IAAF stripped Cox of her gold medal but did not reallocate any other medals, so Murphy's team kept their fourth place finish. In 2005, she won a bronze medal as part of the 4 × 400m relay at the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet court A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The Intern ...

. Murphy competed in the 400m 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 ...

. She finished fifth in her heat with a time of 53.67. The top three in each heat qualified for the next round and the nine fastest times after that; she was the sixth fastest and qualified for the semifinals. A month after the competition, Murphy announced her retirement from athletics on 28 April 2006.

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Catherine Welsh female sprinters British female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games 1975 births Living people Welsh people of Irish descent Sportspeople from Hemel Hempstead Athletes from Sheffield Olympic athletes for Great Britain Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales Alumni of Brunel University London