Melissa Courtney-Bryant (born 30 August 1993)Melissa Courtney IAAF. Retrieved 2022-12-24. is a British middle- and
long-distance runner
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength.
Within e ...
. She won the bronze medal in the
1500 metres
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...
at the
2018 Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
and bronze for the
3000 metres
The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track.
It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...
Poole
Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
, Dorset, she initially focused on swimming, but switched to running. She joined Poole Athletic Club and worked under coach Mark Pauley from the age of twelve, as well as her father Mark as more runners joined the club. She credits her partner and fellow athlete, Ashley Bryant, which encouraging her to up her performance after a period of stagnation. After graduating from
Brunel University London
Brunel University London is a Public university, public Research universities, research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian era, Victorian engineer and pioneer of the I ...
with a degree in
sports psychology
Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...
, she moved to train at
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...
in 2017 to work with
Rob Denmark
Robert Neil "Rob" Denmark (born 23 November 1968) is a British former middle- and long-distance runner who won a gold medal in the 5000 metres at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 1994 European Championshi ...
.Melissa Courtney GC2018. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
Courtney made big improvements to her 800 m and 1500 m bests in 2013 and won the latter event at the BUCS Championships indoor and out that year. In the 2014 indoor season, she won the Welsh indoor title and came third at the British Indoor Championships. During the 2015 season her 800 m and 1500 m bests were brought down to 2:05.48 and 4:09.74 minutes and she made her international debut at the
2015 European Athletics U23 Championships
The 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships were the 10th edition of the biennial athletics competition between European athletes under the age of twenty-three. It was held in Tallinn, Estonia from 8 to 12 July.
Medal summary
Men
Women
Med ...
, placing 10th in the 1500 m. Though she was seventh nationally at the
2016 British Athletics Championships
The 2016 British Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for the United Kingdom held at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, from 24–26 June 2016. The event was organised by UK Athletics. A full range of outdoo ...
, she ran a best of 4:07.55 minutes and gained selection for the
2016 European Athletics Championships
The 2016 European Athletics Championships was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between 6 and 10 July 2016. It was the first time the Netherlands hosted the event.
Due to 2016 being an Olympic year, there was no racewalking and the marathon compet ...
2017 European Cross Country Championships
The 2017 European Cross Country Championships was the 24th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes. It was hosted in Šamorín
Šamorín (; hu, Somorja, german: Sommerein) is a small town in western Slovakia, so ...
.
After winning the 1500 m British Universities title, she represented Great Britain at the 2017 Universiade and placed fifth in the final. That winter, she travelled to train in
Iten
Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya. Iten serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. The town is located along the road between Eldoret and Kabarnet at the junction of the road heading to Kapsowar. ...
in Kenya. Courtney was chosen to represent Wales at the
2018 Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
and she won 1500 m bronze medal in a personal best time of 4:03.44 minutes, beaten only by
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
Beatrice Chepkoech
Beatrice Chepkoech Sitonik (born 6 July 1991)Beatrice Chepkoech
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
meeting of the
2019 IAAF World Indoor Tour
The 2019 IAAF World Indoor Tour was the fourth edition of the IAAF World Indoor Tour, the highest series of international track and field indoor meetings. It was designed to create an IAAF Diamond League-style circuit for indoor track and field e ...
with a time of 8:43.36. In March that year, she took bronze over the same distance at the European Indoor Championships, setting her personal best in the process.
On 24 December 2022, Courtney-Bryant set unofficial parkrun world record of 15 minutes 31 seconds in Poole, slicing six seconds off
Samantha Harrison
Samantha (Sam) Harrison (born 29 August 1991) is a New Zealand field hockey player. She has competed for the New Zealand women's national field hockey team (''the Black Sticks Women''), including for the team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and ...
's female best mark.
Personal bests
*
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 the ...
– 2:04.03 (2017)
*
1500 metres
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...
– 4:01.81 (2020)
*
Mile run
The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race.
The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...
– 4:23.15 (2017)
*
3000 metres
The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track.
It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...
– 8:39.20 (2018)
*
5000 metres
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...
– 14:53.82 (2019)
*
5K run
The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distinguished from the 5000 met ...
– 15:58 (2017)
*
10K run
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
– 33:14 (2016)
*
Parkrun
Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...