Beverly "Bev" Kinch (born 14 January 1964) is an English former

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 and sprinter. She held the UK long jump record for 29 years (1983–2012) with 6.90 metres. She is the 1983 Universiade Champion at 100 metres and the 1984 European Indoor Champion at 60 metres. She also represented Great Britain at the

1988 Olympic Games 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Career

Kinch was born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, Suffolk, England and was a member of the Borough of Hounslow Athletics Club. 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 a ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, winning the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the long jump with a jump of 6.78 m. In 1983, aged 19, she came 5th in the long jump final at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Helsinki with a wind-assisted 6.93 metres. In the same competition, she set a British record of 6.90 metres, which stood until 2012. In 1983 she also won the

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

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 conteste ...

at the

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

in a time of 11.13 (wind-assisted). The US magazine Track & Field News ranked her the seventh best long jumper in the world in 1983. In 1984, Kinch competed in the European Indoor Championships in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, where she won a gold medal in the

60 m 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

sprint in a time of 7.16 seconds. Kinch was an outstanding talent, who seemed to have a brilliant future ahead of her, She earned selection for the 1984 Olympics at both 100 metres and long jump but was forced to withdraw because of injury and was never able to regain her former glory. At the 1986 European Indoor Championships in Madrid she finished fourth in a time of 7.13 seconds in the 60 m sprint, a British record that stood until

Jeanette Kwakye Jeanette Boahemaa Kwakye (pronounced ''kwah-chee''; born 20 March 1983) is a sports broadcaster and retired British sprinter. Athletics career Kwakye won a bronze medal in the 4x100 metres relay at the 2002 World Junior Championships, with ...

ran 7.08 seconds at the World Indoor Championships in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in 2008. Kinch competed at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul as a member of the UK 4 x 100 metres relay quartet that reached the semi-finals. In 1990, she won a European Championship bronze medal in the relay along with her teammates

Stephanie Douglas Stephanie Forrester is a fictional character from ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. Stephanie is known for her marriages to the famed fashion designer, Eric Forrester, and for her rivalries with Brooke ...

, Simmone Jacobs and Paula Thomas. That year also saw her run a lifetime best in the 100 m with 11.29 secs. She reached the quarter-finals of the 100 metres at the

in both Tokyo, 1991 and Stuttgart, 1993. In 1996, Kinch earned relay selection for the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Achievements

References

External links

* *
British All-Time lists

Track & Field News Rankings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinch, Beverly 1964 births Living people Sportspeople from Ipswich English female long jumpers English female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain FISU World University Games gold medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games