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Jennifer Brenda "Jenny" Meadows (born 17 April 1981) is a retired British athlete. Her main event was the
800 metres 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 t ...
, although she previously competed also over the 400 metres. She won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships, and a silver at the 2010 World Indoor Championships. At the European Athletics Championships, Meadows took silver outdoors in 2010 and gold indoors in 2011. She also had some international success as part of the Great Britain women's
4 x 400 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...
squad. Meadows was the 800 m
2011 Diamond League The 2011 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2011 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the second edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 6 May in Doha, Q ...
winner. In 2009, she was the third-fastest British woman over the distance, and currently is the eighth-fastest as of 2022. She was multiple British national champion (mostly indoors). Meadows, along with other athletes such as
Caster Semenya Mokgadi Caster Semenya OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women's 800 metres. She first won gold at the World Championships in 2009 ...
and Alysia Montano, has been noted in the press as one of a number of athletes who were repeatedly denied major international medals by doping competitors, particularly from
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.


Early career


Schools championships

In January 1989, a seven-year-old Jenny Meadows joined Wigan & District Harriers. She was the
800 metres 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 t ...
winner at the English Schools Junior ( under 15 in this case) Championships in 1995. In 1998, she was third at the AAA Junior Indoor Championships in the 400 metres. She also finished second over the distance at the English Schools Championships.


GB team

The 18-year-old represented
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in the women's
4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...
at the
1999 European Athletics Junior Championships The 1999 European Athletics Junior Championships were held in Riga, Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links= ...
in Riga. A year later, she ran the fastest leg of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay for the British team at the World Junior Championships held in
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, helping to secure the gold medal. In 2001 at the European Under-23 Championships in
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, she finished sixth in the 400 m, and gained a gold in the women's 4 × 400 m relay.


Senior career

During 2000s, she gradually shifted to the
800 metres 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 t ...
distance as her specialist event. In 2002, she won her first senior British title in the indoor 800 m to take gold in the indoor 400 m a year later. Apart from relays at several major events, Meadows represented Great Britain at the 2001 European U23 Championships (400 m), 2002 European Indoor Championships (800 m), home 2003 World Indoor Championships (400 m), and 2003 European U23 Championships (400 m). She reached the 800 m semi-finals at the 2006 World Indoor Championships in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
in a time of 2:03.95; women's 4 × 400 m relay squad finished sixth. The 25-year-old reached the final and placed fifth in the 800 m event at the European Indoor Championships Birmingham 2007, and went out of the competition in the semi-finals of the 2007 World Championships in
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, Japan with 1:59.39. This was Meadows' first season, when she ran under 2 minutes and she did it both indoors and outdoors.


2008: Beijing Olympics

She finished fifth in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
of her new signature event at the World Indoor Championships in
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, Spain. On 21 June 2008, in Annecy, Meadows achieved her first European Cup
victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...
over the 800 m. On 18 July, she improved her personal best in the event to 1:59.11 at the Paris Golden League meeting. On 19 July, her place in the Beijing 2008 Great Britain Olympic Team was confirmed along with Marilyn Okoro and Jemma Simpson. Meadows qualified for the semi-final of the 800 m event at the
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 vari ...
after finishing 3rd in her heat with a time of 2.00.33, and in the semi itself ran close to her personal best in a time of 1.59.43, finishing in sixth place.


2009: World bronze medallist

She had a successful indoor season during 2009 winning the UK Championships / European Indoor Trials, setting a new indoor personal best of 1.59.52 at the
Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix The Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as Aviva Indoor Grand Prix, is an annual indoor track and field competition which is held in mid-February at the Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, England. It is one of a handful of events to hold I ...
, and finishing in fourth place in the European Indoor Championships in
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, Italy. On 27 July, her place in the Great Britain Team for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany in August was confirmed, along with Jemma Simpson and
Marilyn Okoro Marilyn Chinwenwa Okoro (born 23 September 1984, in London) is a British track and field athlete. She finished third in the 800 metres at both the 2007 and 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. She was on the bronze winning 4 × 400 m relay at the ...
. On 28 July, Meadows set a new outdoor personal best of 1.58.63 at the IAAF Super Grand Prix, Herculis in
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. On 19 August, she took the bronze medal in the World Championship 800 m final in a new lifetime best of 1.57.93, becoming the third-fastest British women of all time at the event. In a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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interview after winning the bronze medal, Meadows commented: "It proves you should never say never, you should always believe in yourself. If you work hard and keep the faith, good things will happen."


2010: World Indoor Championship & European Championship silver medals

Meadows started the season in great form and on 20 February broke the 7-year British indoor 800 m record, formerly held by Kelly Holmes, with a time of 1:59:11 in Birmingham. She went on to improve her record at the World Indoor Championships in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
, Qatar on 14 March, where she was awarded the captaincy of the Great Britain team, and claimed the silver medal in 1:58.43. At the European Championships in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Meadows won a bronze, which was later upgraded to silver due to a doping offence by the Russian winner.


2011: European indoor champion & Diamond League winner

At the Paris European Indoor Championships, she earned two medals, securing the silver medal for the 800 m event and a silver as part of British women's 4 × 400 metres relay. As the Russian winner was eventually banned for doping, silver for her individual event was later promoted to gold. On 31 July, at the age of 30, Jenny finally won her first British senior outdoor title with an 800 m victory at the Aviva National Championships in Birmingham to become national champion. Meadows won three of the seven Diamond League 800 m races in 2011 – in Shanghai, Birmingham (promotional event) and London (earning $10,000 a win) – to win the overall Diamond League 800 m title. Each overall winner earned an additional $40,000 (US Dollars) in prize money. She reached the semi-finals of the World Championships Daegu 2011 in South Korea ( 1:59.07). All three Russian finalists including Yuliya Stepanova, who denied Meadows qualification for the final from the semi, were later disqualified for doping.


2012–13

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
injury in 2012 forced her to miss competing in her home London Olympics and in the whole season. She only competed in two competitions in 2013. Much to the delight of the British fans, Meadows returned to action in February of that year (her first time since September 2011) and finished second at the British Indoor Grand Prix. She placed fourth in the final of the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg in March, just months after undergoing ankle surgery. The following year, at least one athlete who finished ahead of her was banned for doping offences, however, the result of this event remained unchanged. In the summer of 2013, she injured in turn her
thigh In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip ( pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of ...
and was ruled out of the outdoor season, including 2013 World Championships.


2014–2015

Meadows returned to competition at the start of 2014, running the indoor season and then taking part in her first outdoor season since 2011. She steadily improved performances and on 16 June her place in the England Team for the
XX Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
in Glasgow was announced. At the British National Championships in June, she secured a bronze. Jenny finished in sixth place at the Commonwealth Games. She had the best indoor 800 m mark of the 2014/15 season in the world. She was a favourite for the title at the European Indoor Championships in
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but days before the event contracted a heavy cold/flu and was not at her best. She ran the heats and semi-final but was not well enough to contest the final. Meadows described this as a real low of her career after battling back from injury and drugs cheats for a cold/flu to take away her victory this time. She competed throughout the rest of 2015 but was very disheartened by what she had faced the past few years. She was eliminated in the
semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
at the World Championships Beijing 2015.


Retirement

The 35-year-old announced her retirement on 7 July 2016, after an injury sustained in the semi-final of the 2016 European Championships in
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meant that she would be unable to compete in the
2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
.


Non-competitive career

Meadows was head athletics coach for Manchester City Council before becoming a full-time athlete. She has appeared on the BBC's ''
A Question of Sport ''Question of Sport'' (previously ''A Question of Sport'') is a British television sports quiz show produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is the "world's longest running TV sports quiz". Following a pilot episode in December 1968, broadcast on ...
'' in Matt Dawson's team on 13 March 2010, and on the BBC's ''
Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...
'' in December 2011, in which her specialist subject was
Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union followin ...
. In 2017, she worked as a pacemaker at major events, including IAAF Indoor Permit,
IAAF World Challenge The IAAF World Challenge was an annual, global circuit of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). First held in 2010, it replaced the IAAF Grand Prix and IAAF Super Grand Pri ...
and Diamond League meets. After retirement, Meadows has worked as a UK Athletics coach, athletics commentator and event host. She joined the BBC team covering athletics at the 2016 Olympics. She has worked as a commentator for
World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
at least since 2019, as of 2022. She was a pundit on the BBC coverage of the 2022 European Championships. Since 2019 Meadows has been a Director o
Totally Runable Ltd
a company co-founded by
Emily Freeman Emily Kaye Freeman (born 24 November 1980) is a retired British athlete from West Yorkshire, England, personal trainer and co-founder of training and mindset company Totally Runable. Freeman competed both nationally and internationally between 20 ...
who work with schools using running to build confidence in sport. She is also part of
Keely Hodgkinson Keely Nicole Hodgkinson (born 3 March 2002) is an English athlete specialising in the 800 metres. At the age of 19, she won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, breaking the British record set by Kelly Holmes in 1995. She is the 2022 W ...
's coaching team along with her husband Trevor Painter.


Competition record


Notes


References


External links

*
Totally Runable website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meadows, Jennifer 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Wigan English female middle-distance runners English female sprinters British female middle-distance runners British female sprinters Olympic female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for Great Britain World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists British Athletics Championships winners Diamond League winners Alumni of Liverpool Hope University