Michelle Finn (born 16 December 1989) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

runner competing 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 represented Ireland in the 3,000 metres steeplechase at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in Rio; she finished 11th in her heat. Previously she had also represented Ireland at the 2015 World Championships.

Biography

Finn grew up in

Castlemagner Castlemagner () is a village and townland in the Duhallow area of north-west County Cork, Ireland. Castlemagner is within the Cork North-West (Dáil constituency). History The area takes its name from the eponymous Castle Magner, a Norman-era t ...

. She was born 16 December 1989 to Mary and Toddy Finn. Finn was a four-year scholarship athlete for

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

, majoring in communications. She received a master's degree in nutrition. She also spent two years at the University of Limerick. Finn placed second at the GloHealth Cross-country Championships which qualified her to compete for Ireland in the 2014 European Cross Country Championships held in Bulgaria. The team won a bronze medal and she placed 23rd in the event. She qualified for the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Summer Olympics after running a 9:43.34 at the 2015 Letterkenny AC International. Finn finished the 2015 World Championships 3000m steeplechase in 9:55.27 for ninth in her heat. She did not advance to the finals. Finn ran the 3000m steeplechase at the

in Rio. She passed three competitors during the final stretch to come in 11th with a time of 9:49.45. She had the 39th fastest time in the heats and did not advance to the finals. In February 2018, Finn suffered a stress fracture in her foot and had to modify her training schedule to accommodate it. To qualify for the European Championships, Finn needed to run under 9:55 in two qualifying events. On 18 July she finished a race in France with 9:51.43, leaving one more time to qualify for the European Championships. On the first water jump in a race on 25 July Finn landed awkwardly and sprained her ankle. She considered dropping out of the race but pressed on and finished in 9:56.03, just over the time required for the B qualification standard. With her last chance to qualify four days later and with her doctor's approval, she raced at the Irish Athletics Championships, finishing with a time of 9:46.19. In the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburgh hosting the diving events and Gleneagles ...

she finished 16th in her heat with a time of 10:10.93. She qualified for the 2019 World Championships in Qatar. She finished ninth in her heat with a time of 9:47.44, saying that her time was affected by misjudging the first barrier. In July 2019, Finn set a PB of 9:41.23 during a race in Finland. Finn won the

Sydney Track Classic The Sydney Track Classic is an annual outdoor track and field meeting held in February or March at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia. It is part of the national Australian Athletics ...

and set a new personal best time of 9:38.04. Finn, who joined the Melbourne Track Club in January 2020, is training for the Tokyo

2020 Summer 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 ...

Competition record

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, Michelle 1989 births Living people Irish female middle-distance runners Irish female steeplechase runners Place of birth missing (living people) World Athletics Championships athletes for Ireland Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ireland Competitors at the 2013 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2017 Summer Universiade Athletes from County Cork Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Western Kentucky Lady Toppers track and field athletes Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Alumni of the University of Limerick