Linsey Tarrel Macdonald (born 14 February 1964) is a former sprinter from

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, Scotland, who specialised in the

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 ...

and competed at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. She was nicknamed "The Fife Flyer" during her career.

Biography

Inspired by competitors like Mary Peters, Macdonald started in athletics at the age of ten. In 1978 Macdonald was a successful schoolgirl runner, where she was Scottish/British School Girl champion in the

100 metres 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 ...

. She moved up to be a successful junior runner winning the AAA indoor 60m championship, she then added the Junior indoor 400m a year later. Her success continued when she won the AAA Junior Championships in the 100m and 400m in 1979, and 100m and 200m in 1980. Also in 1980 she was AAA indoor 200m champion, as well as U.K. Champion in the 400m. Still only 16 years old, Macdonald, a member of Pitreavie Amateur Athletic Club was selected to represent

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the 1980 Olympics Games in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In Moscow she qualified for the Olympic final, finishing 8th in 52.40 seconds. She was also a member of the 4x400 metre relay team that won the Olympic bronze medal. In 1981 she won the Scottish and the U.K. 100m and 200m Championships, then won a bronze medal at the European Junior Championships. MacDonald finished third behind

Michelle Scutt Michelle Scutt, née Probert (born 17 June 1960) is a female former British Olympic athlete. Competing for Wales at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, she won a silver medal in the 400 metres, behind Australia's Raelene Boyle. ...

in the 400 metres event at the 1982 WAAA Championships and then represented

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia, where she qualified for the 400 final finishing 8th, but won a bronze medal with the 4x400m relay team. She went out in the heats of the Athens European Championships in 1982, but finished 5th in the 4x400 relay. Coached until the age of 18 by Jimmy Brice, she was subsequently coached by John Anderson but never bettered her time of 51.16s at a 16-year-old. In 1985 she won the Scottish 400m metres championship, and the AAA Indoor 400m title.

Career and personal life

Macdonald has degrees in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and is a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

with a special interest in

sport medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

References

1964 births Living people Scottish female sprinters British female sprinters Sportspeople from Dunfermline Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Scottish Olympic competitors Olympic female sprinters Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games 20th-century Scottish sportswomen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics {{Scotland-athletics-bio-stub