Jacqueline ("Jackie") McKernan (born 1 July 1965) is a retired

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

er. She represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at three

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 ...

(1988, 1992, 1996) and won silver medals at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in 1990 and 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 1993.

Career

Born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, McKernan was a member of the City of

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

Athletics Club. She finished 18th in qualifying at the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, before going on to win a silver medal at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1990 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Partic ...

representing Norther Ireland, with a throw of 54.86 metres. She then finished 28th in qualifying at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. McKernan's personal best throw is 60.72 metres, achieved when winning the silver medal at the

on 17 July 1993 in Buffalo. This is the Northern Irish record, and places her sixth on the UK all-time list, behind

Meg Ritchie Margaret "Meg" Elizabeth Stone (née Ritchie, born 6 July 1952) is a retired Scottish discus thrower and Shot putter. She reached the Olympic finals at discus in Moscow 1980 (9th) and Los Angeles 1984 (5th). She also won the 1982 Commonwealth ...

Jade Lally Jade Louise Lally (born 30 March 1987) is a British track and field athlete. She won a bronze medal for England in the women's discus at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and represented Great Britain at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Her personal best is 6 ...

Venissa Head Venissa Anne Head (born 1 September 1956 in Merthyr Tydfil) is a former international track and field athlete from Wales. Biography She went to secondary school at Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School in Wales, and it was whilst there that she w ...

, Philippa Roles and Shelley Newman.UK All-Time Lists: Women - Throws
- GBR Athletics She finished 20th in the qualifying round at the

1996 Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

with 58.88 metres (her best throw at an Olympics).

International competitions

National titles

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the officia ...

(1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997) *5 UK Championships (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKernan, Jackie 1965 births Living people Discus throwers from Northern Ireland Female athletes from Northern Ireland Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes of Great Britain Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Belfast Universiade silver medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games