Denise Margaret Boyd née Robertson (born 15 December 1952) is an Australian former

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

sprinter, who reached two Olympic finals 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 ...

sprint.

Biography

At the 1973 Pacific Conference Games in Toronto, Robertson won gold in the 200 metres and Sprint relay, as well as bronze in the 100 metres. The following year at the

1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games () were held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The event was officially named "the friendly games". T ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, she represented Australia and won three medals, including gold in the 4 x 100 metres. Robertson finished second behind Andrea Lynch in the 100 metres event at the British 1975 WAAA Championships. After taking her married name of Boyd, she reached the final of the Women's 200 metres at the 1976 Olympics Games in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. She was also a member of the Australian sprint relay team, that reached the final in 1976. At the 1977 Pacific Conference Games in Canberra, Boyd won four golds in the 100, 200, 4x100 and 4x400 and then won two Commonwealth gold medals for 200 metres and 4x100 relay at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. Boyd also won four Australian National 100m titles and five 200m championships, as well as winning the 400 in 1983. She also won the British 400 metres

WAAA Championships The WAAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) in England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event for women during its lifetime. Since 1880, the Amateur Athl ...

title at the 1983 WAAA Championships.

Best performances

- Athletics Australia all-time rankings list
*

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

: 11.35 (Moscow, 1980) *200 m: 22.35 (Sydney, 1980) *

400 m 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 ...

: 51.48 (Melbourne, 1983) *fastest manual 100 and 200 times by an Australian woman, 11.00 in the 100 in Sydney 1973, and 200 22.3 also Sydney in 1979.

Personal life

Her husband, Ray Boyd was also a Commonwealth Games champion and double-Olympic representative in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

. The Boyds have three children, all of whom are successful athletes: * Alana (born 10 May 1984) - 4.55 m Olympic pole vaulter *Jacinta (born 10 February 1986) - 6.64 m

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er *Matthew (Matt) (born 29 April 1988) - 5.35 m pole vaulter In 2009 Denise Boyd was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Denise 1952 births Living people Sportswomen from Queensland Australian female sprinters Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games athletes for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Olympic female sprinters Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Australian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Australian sportswomen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics

Biography

Best performances

Personal life

See also

References

External links