Courtney Babcock-Key (born June 30, 1972) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

coach and competitor in the sport of

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

. Babcock holds the Canadian Women's 5000m(14:54.96) and formerly held the 10,000m records both set during the 2003 season. She broke the Canadian 5000m record in the final of the 2003 World Track and Field IAAF Championships in Paris, where she finished in eighth place, securing her a spot for the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Her 1500m time of 4:01.99 was also a top time in the World that year. She is a five-time national champion. Two times in each the 5000m and 10,000m and once in Cross Country. Born and raised in Chatham, Ontario Babcock trained in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Her father was Larry Babcock a hockey player who was drafted by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. Larry died in 2007. In high school, she was more interested in swimming and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, but moved to running in her final year while attending the Bishop Strachan School in Toronto. A full-time athlete for 13 years, she attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

where she competed successfully in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. She was an NCAA Champion in the Distance Medley Relay anchoring the team to its first win in 1994 and an 8x All American. At school she studied communication and broadcasting and hopes to move into that field upon retirement from running. Today Babcock lives and trains in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

. A middle-distance runner, she competed for Canada for almost 10 years. 2004 was a more difficult year due to injury problems and a bout of

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

she failed to pass the qualifying round in the 5,000 meter race with a time well off her personal best. In the 1500 meter she also failed to advance finishing 26th; only the top twenty-four moved on. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004. She coached at the Division 1 level for five years with the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

. In that time, Montana won its first Women's Cross Country Big Sky Championship title in 24 years. She led two athletes to the top 10 in the NCAA in the 1500m and the 3k steeplechase.

Personal life

She currently owns her own run coaching business, Key Running, named after her husband Miles Key. They have two sons.https://helenair.com/sports/olympics/montana-cross-country-coach-takes-turn-carrying-olympic-torch/article_da01a5da-154e-11df-9a60-001cc4c002e0.html Babcock, left, poses with the Olympic torch along with husband Miles and son Ridley

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Babcock, Courtney 1972 births Living people Canadian female long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Michigan Wolverines women's track and field athletes Olympic track and field athletes of Canada People from Chatham-Kent Sportspeople from Missoula, Montana Track and field athletes from Ontario Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada World Athletics Championships athletes for Canada Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz cross country coaches Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz track and field coaches