Shireen Bailey ( Hassan; born 27 September 1959) is an English former

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

who competed in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

and the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

. She represented Great Britain in both events at the 1988 Olympic Games in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. In 1983, she became only the second British woman in history to run the 800 metres in under two minutes. She is also a former English national record holder at the distance.

Biography

Bailey was born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London. She was a member of the Bromley Ladies. She competed 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 ...

, finishing fifth in the final of the 800 metres in 2:02.41. In 1983, Bailey was the UK's top ranked woman at 800 metres. In May, she became the British 800 metres champion after winning the UK Championships title in 2:01.36, ahead of

Lorraine Baker Lorraine Baker, married name Strain (born 9 April 1964) is an English former middle-distance runner who competed in the 800 metres. She represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 1984 and Barcelona 1992. In Los Angeles, sh ...

. In July, she won the

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 The 1983 WAAA Championships sponsored by the Trustee Savings Bank, were the national track and field championships for women in the United Kingdom. The event was held at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London, from 29 to 30 July 198 ...

in 2:00.58, ahead of Anne Purvis and

Christina Boxer Christina Tracy Boxer née Cahill (born 25 March 1957) is a female retired middle distance athlete from England. She represented Great Britain at three Olympic Games, in Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 and trained at Aldershot, ...

. Then on 23 August in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, she ran a personal best of 1:59.54. This made her only the second British woman in history to run under the two-minute barrier for 800 metres. The first being Christina Boxer in 1979. Bailey was the UK's second fastest 800m woman for the next four seasons, behind Lorraine Baker (1984/86) and

Kirsty Wade Kirsty Margaret Wade (née McDermott, born 6 August 1962) is a British and Welsh former middle-distance runner. She is a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, winning the 800 metres in Brisbane 1982 and both the 800 metres and 1500 me ...

(1985/87). In 1984, her season's best was 2:00.44, but she failed to earn selection for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. She returned to sub two-minute form in 1985, improving her personal best to 1:59.36. After a slow start to the 1986 season, missing out on Commonwealth Games selection, she improved in the second half of the season, earning selection for the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

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, where she ran 2:00.41 in the heats. In the semi-final, she ran 2:00.50 to narrowly miss the final. She achieved her season's best in September, running 1:59.85. In 1987, Bailey had another slow start to the season and missed World Championships selection. She once again found her best form in September. On 11 September, she finished third in the

IAAF Grand Prix Final The IAAF Grand Prix Final was an athletics competition featuring track and field events staged by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was first held in 1985 and replaced in 2003 by the IAAF World Athletics Final. For the ...

in Brussels, behind Ana Quirot and Slobadanka Colovic. Then on 15 September in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, she reached her peak at 800 metres, running 1:58.97, to set a new English national record. The previous mark was Christina Boxer's 1:59.05 from 1979. The UK record was held by the Scottish born Welsh athlete Kirsty Wade, with 1:57.42. Bailey's record would stand for almost three years, until Diane Edwards ran 1:58.65 in 1990. At the 1988 AAA Championships, incorporating the Olympic Trials, Bailey earned selection at both 800 metres and 1500 metres. With the first two in each event guaranteed a place on the team, she secured her place by finishing second to

in the 800 metres in 2:02.49, before going on to finish second to Christina Cahill (Boxer) in the 1500 metres in 4:09.20. At the Olympic Games in Seoul,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

she reached the 800 m semi-finals, running 1:59.94, before reaching the final of the 1500 metres, running a lifetime best of 4:02.32 for seventh, ahead of

Mary Slaney Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, née Decker, born August 4, 1958) is an American retired middle-distance and long-distance runner. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships an ...

and

Doina Melinte Doina Ofelia Melinte (; née Beșliu on 27 December 1956) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She competed at four Olympics (1980–92), and won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver medal in the 1,500 metres in 1984. She won the ...

, who were eighth and ninth respectively. The Seoul Olympics, would prove to be the highlight of Bailey's career. She did earn selection for the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, where she finished eighth in the 1500 metres final in 4:13.31. As of 2018, Bailey's 800 metres best of 1.58.97, ranks 11th on the UK all-time list. Her 1500 metres best of 4:02.32, ranks her 16th. She also ranks fifth on the UK all-time list at 1000 metres with 2:35.32.

Competition record

Personal bests

*600 metres — 1:26.8 (1985) *800 metres — 1:58.97 (1987) *1000 metres — 2:35.32 (1986) *1500 metres — 4:02.32 (1988) *Mile — 4:31.45 (1989)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Shireen 1959 births Living people English female middle-distance runners British female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games athletes for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games People from Kensington Athletes from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea English people of Asian descent People from Croydon Athletes from the London Borough of Croydon Competitors at the 1984 Friendship Games 20th-century English sportswomen