Diana Lynn Pickler (born December 9, 1983) is an American

heptathlete A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

from Shreveport, Louisiana. She has represented her country at the Olympic and

World Championship 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, ...

levels and was the 2009 US heptathlon champion. Her twin sister, Julie Pickler, is also a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete.

Career

Spending her amateur career with

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

, she won her first major national honours in 2001, taking the national junior championship in the heptathlon. ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

'' rated her as the country's top junior heptathlete that year.Diana Pickler
.

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 a ...

. Retrieved on 2009-06-29. She represented the United States at the

2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Kingston, Jamaica from July 16 to July 21, 2002. Men's Results Women's Results Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, ...

but finished in 15th place with 4539 points, well below her season's best of 5365. The 2003 and 2004 seasons were uneventful but she matured as a senior athlete the following two seasons, taking sixth place 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 ...

championships in 2005 and improving to third place in 2006. She also finished fifth at the national outdoor championships that year. The 2007 season represented a significant progression: her personal best reached over 6000 points for the first time and she was ranked as the number one American heptathlete by ''Track and Field News''. She was runner-up at the national outdoor championships, and also runner-up in the indoor championships in the pentathlon. She was part of the American team for the 2007 World Championships and, although she finished 25th, it was the best performance by an American in the event. After taking third at the 2008 Olympic trials with a personal best of 6,257 points, she represented the

United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics The United States, represented by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. U.S. athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in M ...

. However, she strained her hamstring in the first event ( 100 meter hurdles) and failed to finish the competition. At the 2009 national championships, an injury to the favourite

Hyleas Fountain Hyleas Fountain (born January 14, 1981) is an American heptathlete. She was the silver medalist in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Career Early years Fountain was born in Columbus, Georgia, and was a member of the 1992 Harrisburg Parks ...

resulted in Pickler's first senior national title. She took first place with event bests in the

800 meters The 800 metres, or meters ( 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 an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

and shot put, and a personal heptathlon best of 6290 points, finishing ahead of Sharon Day and Bettie Wade.Gordon, Ed (2009-06-29)
Injured Fountain abandons, title goes to Pickler with 6290 – US Heptathlon Champs, Day 2
IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.

Other appearances

Pickler appeared at the 7th ''

KUNOICHI is a Japanese cant term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel ''Ninpō Hakkenden'' (忍法八犬伝) in 1964 ...

'' competition (known in the US as ''Women of Ninja Warrior'') in the summer of 2007, but failed on the Log Jam in the first stage when her foot hit the water as she tried to climb back onto a log after losing her balance.

Statistics

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.Pickler, Diana
IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.

Competition record

KUNOICHI record

*7th competition (99) - Failed Log Jam - First Stage

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickler, Diana 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Shreveport, Louisiana American heptathletes Washington State University alumni Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American women