Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bird (born 4 October 1994)
is a British
athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
who specializes in the
3000 metres steeplechase
The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...
. She won the silver medal at the
2022 Commonwealth Games
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...
and a bronze at the
2022 European Athletics Championships
The 2022 European Athletics Championships were the 25th edition of the European Athletics Championships and were held in Munich, Germany, from 15 to 21 August 2022.
They were part of the European Championships, a multi-sport tournament which brin ...
.
Bird is the current
British record-holder in the 3000 m steeplechase with a time of 9:07.87. She is a two-time
British national champion.
Early career
Elizabeth Bird began running in
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
, and her first club was Hertfordshire Phoenix Athletic Club.
She studied at the
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
graduating in Public and International Affairs in 2017. She was an
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 ...
Honorable Mention All-America honoree in the steeplechase in 2015 and was a four-time
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 ...
Regional qualifier. Bird was a two-time
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
champion in the steeplechase and part of the 4x800 m team that won a conference title in 2017 as well as being the Ivy League Cross Country Champion in 2015.
Career
Bird competed in the women's 3000 m steeplechase event at the
2019 World Athletics Championships
The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...
and did not advance from the heats clocking a personal best of
9:30.13.
Having qualified for the delayed
2020 Tokyo Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
in her specialist event, she reached the final after finishing fifth in her heat. In the final Bird broke the national record with a time of
9:19.68, placing ninth.
In July 2022, she did not qualify for the final at the
World Athletics Championships
The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...
held in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
in a time of
9:23.17. At about three weeks later, Bird won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games
Birmingham 2022
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...
in a personal best of
9:17.79.
She set new lifetime best and a British record of 9:07.87 at the
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
Diamond League
The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...
five days later.
Also in August, she earned a bronze at the
European Athletics Championships
The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe.
Editions
First held, for men ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, clocking
9:23.18.
Personal life
Bird studied also for a master's degree in International Studies at the
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...
between 2017 and 2018 but deferred a place at law school in
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...
in order to focus on the 2020 Summer Olympics. She has been involved in advocacy and support for human rights organisation Detention Action.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Elizabeth
1994 births
Living people
British female middle-distance runners
British female steeplechase runners
Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain
British Athletics Championships winners
Place of birth missing (living people)
European Athletics Championships medalists
People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire