Debra ("Debbie") Lee Flintoff-King, (OAM) (born 20 April 1960) is a retired Australian athlete, and winner of the women's 400 m hurdles event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Athletics career

Flintoff-King was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, the daughter of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

footballer Les Flintoff, and made her international debut at the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games, winning the 400m hurdles in a Commonwealth record time of 55.89. Flintoff finished sixth in the inaugural event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. In 1986, after setting Australian records at both the 400m flat and 400m hurdles during the year, she won both events at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games. Flintoff participated in Prince Edward's charity television special ''

The Grand Knockout Tournament ''The Grand Knockout Tournament'' (also known as ''It's a Royal Knockout'') was a one-off charity event which took place on 15 June 1987, and was shown on British television on 19 June 1987 (BBC1, repeated on 27 December 1987), in addition to a ...

'' in 1987. She then won a silver medal at the 1987 World Championships and became the first Australian athlete to win an IAAF Grand Prix Final in that year, taking out her specialty 400m Hurdles event. She won a gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics despite having just received news of her sister, Noeline's death. Her Olympic record time of 53.17 seconds is the current Australian record. Flintoff-King was one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She carried the Olympic Torch at the stadium, as one of the runners for the final segment, before the lighting of the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

. Married to her coach Phil King with three children (Amber King, Teisha King and Frazer King) Flintoff-King coached Australian sprinter

Lauren Hewitt Lauren Katherine Hewitt (born 25 November 1978 in Warracknabeal, Victoria) is a track and field sprinter from Australia. She competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996, and won the bronze medal in the women's 20 ...

in the early 1990s and has mentored World Champion

Jana Pittman Jana Pittman (born 9 November 1982) is an Australian former athlete. During her athletic career Pittman specialised in the 400 metres run and 400-metre hurdles events. She is a two-time world champion in the 400 m hurdles, from 2003 and 2007. S ...

Honours

In 1987, Flintoff-King received a Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

and was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser t ...

. She received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flintoff-King, Debbie 1960 births Living people Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia) Athletes from Melbourne Australian female hurdlers Australian female sprinters Olympic athletes of Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia World Athletics Championships medalists Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)