Katherine Jessie Jean "Kate" Allen (born 25 April 1970, in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, Australia) is an Australian-Austrian

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

. She won the gold medal in the women's

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

at the

2004 Summer 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 ...

Athens 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 ...

Early life

Kate Allen grew up on a sheep-farming property with her three brothers at Teesdale, Victoria in southeastern Australia. From an early age her parents encouraged her to run, and she used to frequently jog to primary school some 3 kilometres from home. At the age of four Allen began participating in Little Athletics at Landy Field in

. She competed in junior athletics until the age of 14, winning a number of championships over 1500 m and 'cross-country' distance. Allen also enjoyed

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

in her early years, a sport that would prove important to her coordination skills during her triathlon career. Allen graduated from Ballarat University as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

at age 20. She then travelled overseas. During one of her trips she met Marcel Diechtler in

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a town rights, medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbüh ...

, whom she married in 1999, who was a triathlon competitor for Austria. Diechtler encouraged Allen to take up triathlon, beginning in 1996.

Triathlon career

After some years of successful racing around Europe with her former coach Mario Huys Allen received Austrian citizenship in 2002 and started racing in the World Cup. She took silver in only her third World Cup in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany and won silver at the European Championships in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain. Just eight years after beginning the sport, Allen won the 2004 Olympic triathlon in

. At the end of the swim leg Allen was in 44th place in the field of 51. After the bicycle leg she was in 28th. During the run she progressively overtook twenty seven competitors to power past then-leader Australian

Loretta Harrop Loretta "Loz" Harrop (born 17 July 1975, in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian triathlete. As a teenager she attended Cavendish Road State High School along with her siblings and as of 2007 has a house named after her. Harr ...

just 150 metres from the finish line, winning the race in emphatic style. Alongside her Olympic distance triathlon career, Allen showed several strong performances in racing at the Ironman distance. In 2002, she recorded the fastest Ironman debut time ever, completing the course in 8:58:24. She topped her performance in 2003, finishing in 8:54:01 hours, a personal record that still stands. After the Olympic Games in Athens it was Allen's plan to only race at Ironman distances for 2005–2006, with the aim of winning the Ironman World Championships in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. After finishing 7th in 2002, Allen placed 5th in both 2005 and 2006. During the ITU New Plymouth BG Triathlon World Cup in New Zealand in April 2008, Allen had a bike crash at and suffered serious injuries. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, she ranked 14th. Achievements: Kate Allen Nacht des Sports 2008

2002 * 2nd place, Ironman Austria, Klagenfurt/Austria (08:58:24 hrs. - fastest Ironman debut in history) * 7th place, Ironman Hawaii, Kona/United States (09:38:40 hrs.) 2003 * 1st place, Ironman Austria, Klagenfurt/Austria (08:54:01 hrs.) * 1st place, ITU Triathlon International race,

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

/Switzerland * 2nd place, ITU Triathlon World Cup,

/Germany * 4th place, ITU Triathlon World Cup,

Makuhari is a community in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is within Hanamigawa-ku and Mihama-ku. The seaside area of Makuhari was reclaimed from the sea. The district was constructed in a span of 10 years. Steven Poole, author of ''Trigger Ha ...

/Japan * 6th place, ITU Triathlon World Cup,

/Australia * Austrian Champion 2003 Triathlon Olympic Distance * Austrian Champion 2003 Triathlon Ironman Distance 2004 * Olympic Champion,

/Greece * Vice-European Champion,

/Spain * Austrian Sports Personality of the Year 2005 * 1st place, Ironman Austria, Klagenfurt/Austria (9:07:03 hrs.) * 5th place, Ironman Hawaii, Kona/USA (9:22:08 hrs.) 2006 * 1st place, Vienna City half-marathon (1:14:24 hrs.) * 5th place, Ironman Hawaii, Kona/USA (9:30:22 hrs.) 2007 * Vice-European Champion,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

/Denmark * Vice-European Champion Team, Copenhagen/Danmark * 3rd place, ITU Triathlon World Cup,

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

/United Kingdom 2008 * 8th place, World Championships Vancouver/Canada * 14th place, Beijing Olympics

Awards

In 2004, Kate Allen received the "

Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the Austrian national honours system. History The Decoration of Hono ...

" (''Goldenes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich''). She was voted 2004

Austrian Sportspersonality of the year The Austrian Sports Personality of the Year () is chosen annually since 1949. Recordholders are Annemarie Moser-Pröll (seven awards) and Marcel Hirscher (six awards). In 1978 and 1979 the Austria national football team was named Austrian Sports Te ...

and also received the

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

"SportStar Award 2004".

References

External links

*
Official website

Athlete Biography
at beijing2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Kate 1970 births Living people Austrian female triathletes Olympic triathletes for Austria Triathletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Austria Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Sportspeople from Geelong Olympic medalists in triathlon Federation University Australia alumni Australian emigrants to Austria Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics