Shara Proctor (born 16 September 1988) is a former British long jumper born in

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

. She is the national record holder of both Anguilla and Great Britain. On 28 August 2015 at the World Championships in Beijing she became the first British, female, long-jumper to jump over 7 metres (7.07), setting a new British record and earning a world championship silver medal in the process. She also won the 2013

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

in the event. Her younger sister is the Anguillan sprinter Shinelle Proctor.

Career

Representing Anguilla

She competed 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 ...

and the 2007 World Championships for Anguilla, but without reaching the final round. In November 2010, she announced that she would be competing for Great Britain at events held by the IAAF, as Anguilla is a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

and cannot send delegations to the Olympic Games for not having your

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

(NOC) recognized. A

, Anguilla does not have a

(NOC) of its own; However, this would not prevent Proctor from competing for Great Britain, as the responsibilities of the National Olympic Committee for the territory are the responsibility of the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA; ) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It represents the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), but also incorporate represen ...

(BOA). However, this would not happen at

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

competitions and at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

because Anguilla is an effective member of both associations. After the change of nation, she was invited to compete for the English team at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Representing Great Britain and England

In 2012, Proctor won her first senior medal for Great Britain, a bronze medal in the long jump in the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships, after a British national indoor record leap of 6.89 metres. Her longest jumps outdoors are 7.07 metres in the long jump, achieved in August 2015 in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

; and 13.74 metres in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

, achieved in May 2009 in

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

. In November 2012 Proctor moved from her training base at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach to

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

when her coach Rana Reider was recruited to work at

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...

. On Reider's move to the Netherlands, Proctor relocated to stay with her coach. Shara Proctor at the Adidas Boost Boston Games in 2019

On 28 August 2015 at the World Championships in Beijing she became the first British female long jumper to jump over 7 metres (7.07) thus setting a new British record, and earning a silver medal. Proctor won bronze medals at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

and

2018 European Athletics Championships The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Grea ...

. She announced her retirement from athletics in 2022.

Achievements

References

External links

Shara Proctor
– University of Florida athlete profile at GatorZone.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, Shara 1988 births Living people People from The Valley, Anguilla Anguillan long jumpers Anguillan female athletes British female long jumpers English female long jumpers Olympic female long jumpers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Anguilla Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Anguilla World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists British Athletics Championships winners Diamond League winners Florida Gators women's track and field athletes Black British sportswomen Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games 21st-century English sportswomen British Diamond League winners Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics