Louise Victoria Hazel (born 6 October 1985) is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
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 from
March, Cambridgeshire
March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. It was the county town of the Isle of Ely which was a separate administrative county from 1889 to 1965. The administrative centre of Fenland D ...
, who specialises in the multi-event
heptathlon.
She has competed in four major international championships. The first was in 2006 when she came 17th at the
European Championships and the second was three years later when she finished 14th at the
World Championships
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, ...
.
During 2009 she was ranked 2nd best in the country and 9th best of all time. In the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
she won the
gold medal for the England team, with a personal best of 6156 points. At the 2011
Mehrkampf-Meeting Ratingen
The Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting is an annual track and field meeting for decathlon and heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, mean ...
she scored 6166 points but this included wind-assisted performances and she also competed at the
2012 Summer Olympics. In July 2012 she appeared with
Tasha Danvers,
Mark Foster,
Derek Redmond on the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
programme ''
Come Dine with Me'' prior to her Olympics competition, and won the show.
In September 2013 she announced her retirement from heptathlon, although she could compete in other events. In January 2014 she announced that she would come out of retirement to defend her title at the
2014 Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
after
Jessica Ennis-Hill
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill (born 28 January 1986) is a British retired track and field athlete from England, specialising in multi-eventing disciplines and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, ...
announced that she would miss the Games due to pregnancy. However, in June 2014 Hazel stated that she had decided to abandon her comeback due to her training schedule being disrupted by a flare-up of
ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and ...
.
Early life
Hazel was born in
Southwark,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and enjoyed sports as a child. Encouraged by her father she began training at age 10 at the local athletics club. She was educated at
Neale-Wade Community College in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...
and graduated with a BA in French from the
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...
. While at university she joined the renowned
Birchfield Harriers
Birchfield Harriers is an athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England.
As well as welcoming recreational runners they cater for all levels of experience up to and including Olympic athletes whether a ...
Athletics Club.
Advocacy
Hazel is an ambassador for the
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...
.
Competition record
2010 Commonwealth Games
2011 World Championships
2012 Olympic Games
Other ventures
In 2015 Hazel competed on ''
The Chase'' and a celebrity Christmas special edition of ''
Ninja Warrior UK
''Ninja Warrior UK'' (also known as ''Ninja Warrior UK: Race for Glory'') is a British physical obstacle assault course game show, created for ITV. The show is based upon the format of the Japanese game show '' Sasuke'', created by Ushio Higuch ...
''.
In 2017 Hazel appeared on a charity edition of
MTVs ''
The Challenge'', titled ''
The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros''. She competed to raise money for
Save the Children
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
.
In 2018, she returned to the
MTVs ''
The Challenge'' spinoff, titled ''
The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars''.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazel, Louise
1985 births
Living people
People from Southwark
Sportspeople from the London Borough of Southwark
People from March, Cambridgeshire
Sportspeople from Cambridgeshire
Athletes from London
British heptathletes
English heptathletes
Olympic heptathletes
Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain
British Athletics Championships winners
Birchfield Harriers
Alumni of the University of Birmingham
The Challenge (TV series) contestants
Commonwealth Games competitors for England
Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games