Nicola Clare Sanders (born 23 June 1982) is a former British
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 ...
sprinter. She began her career as a
400 metres hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women.
On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...
specialist before concentrating on the
400 metres from 2006 onwards. Her 400 metres personal best is 49.65 seconds. She holds the British indoor record with 50.02 seconds, which ranks her as the fifth fastest woman of all-time indoors.
Sanders career peaked in 2007 when she won the 400 metres at the
2007 European Indoor Championships (breaking the British Indoor record), and ran a personal best to win the silver medal at the
2007 World Championships behind compatriot
Christine Ohuruogu. In the
4×400 metres relay
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
, she won a bronze medal at the
2008 Beijing Olympics (retroactively awarded in 2017) and a gold medal at the
2012 World Indoor Championships. She also won four World Championship relay bronzes. After two years of struggling with injury, she announced her retirement from athletics in October 2014.
Early achievements
Sanders won a
bronze medal in 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 at
400 m hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women.
On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...
. That same year she was 4th in the 400 m hurdles at the
World Youth Championships. In 2000, she was 5th in the
2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Santiago, Chile between 17 and 22 October 2000.
Results
Men
Women
Medal table
Participation
According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1122 athle ...
, but won
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
in the Commonwealth Youth Championships. She grew up in
Amersham and went to
Amersham School.
2005 to 2006
In 2005, she finished 6th (4th
4 × 400 m relay) at the
World Student Games.
In the
2005 Helsinki World Championships Sanders reached the semi finals. Together with
Lee McConnell,
Donna Fraser
Donna Karen Fraser (born 7 November 1972) in Thornton Heath, Croydon is an English former athlete, who mainly competed in the 200 and 400 m.
Career
An exceptional junior, Fraser won six English Schools 200 m titles (as well ...
and
Christine Ohuruogu she won a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay.
She was 4th in the
Commonwealth Games of 2006 in the 400 m hurdles and was part of the team that won the 4 × 400 m relay, but they were subsequently disqualified.
Since then she has focused on
400 m
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...
(due to injury issues) and rarely participates in hurdles races.
She finished 6th in the 400 m final at the
2006 European Athletics Championships in
Gothenburg.
2007 to 2008
In 2007, she took
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
in the 400 m competition in the
2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, with a personal best and national record of 50.02 seconds. This was the 5th fastest indoor 400 m time in history. She also won a bronze in the 4 × 400 m relay.
In 2007, she had suffered knee and Achilles tendon problems, but on 27 August 2007 Nicola broke 50 seconds for the first time in her career, recording 49.77 seconds in the semi final of the 400 m at the
World Athletics Championships
The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...
in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
,
Japan to move to #3 on the British all-time list. She then went on to finish 2nd in the final, behind fellow Briton,
Christine Ohuruogu. Sanders set another personal best of 49.65, which puts her as the fourth fastest British athlete over 400 m, after
Kathy Cook
Kathryn Jane Cook (née Smallwood; born 3 May 1960) is a former elite athlete, specialising in sprint and sprint relays. She is one of the most successful female sprinters in British athletics history. She is three-times an Olympic bronze meda ...
,
Katharine Merry and Ohuruogu, who also set a personal best in the World Championship final.
During the final day of the championships on 2 September, Sanders anchored the British 4 × 400 m team to a bronze medal. In so doing she became the first female UK runner to break 49 seconds for a 400 metres relay leg, with a time of 48.76 seconds, beating
Sally Gunnell
Sally Jane Janet Gunnell (born 29 July 1966) is a British former track and field athlete, active between 1984 and 1997, who won the 1992 Olympic gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles. During a golden 24-month period between 1992 and 1994, Gunn ...
's previous record of 49.46 seconds.
Sanders went out of the 400 m at the
2008 Summer Olympics in the third semi-final in a time of 50.71 seconds. With a tough lane draw, lane 9, and lacking the fitness that comes from an injury free run in to the season,
Michael Johnson added, 'she's got a little bit more 800 metres look to me this year than she did last year, there's just not the power, the arm drive that we saw in 2007.' She was part of the 4 × 400 m relay team which finished fifth in the final although the team was later upgraded to bronze medal position following disqualification for doping offences of the teams finishing in second and fourth place.
Great Britain's Womens 4x400 metres Relay Team to Receive 2008 Olympic Bronze
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Charity
In December 2011, Sanders was one of 12 British female sporting celebrities who posed for Clara Maidment a charity calendar in aid of Wellbeing of Women
Wellbeing of Women is the only UK charity dedicated to funding research, education and advocacy across all of women's reproductive and gynaecological health, including menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, gynaecological cancers, menopaus ...
.
Personal bests
* 400 metres – 49.65 (Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
, Japan 2007)
* 400 meters hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women.
On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ar ...
– 55.32 (Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia 2006)
Indoors
* 400 metres – 50.02 (Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, England 2007)
References
External links
*
Nicola Sanders interview
profile thepowerof10
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Nicola
1982 births
Living people
Sportspeople from High Wycombe
British female sprinters
English female sprinters
British female hurdlers
English female hurdlers
Olympic female sprinters
Olympic athletes of Great Britain
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games competitors for England
Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain
World Athletics Championships medalists
European Athletics Championships medalists
World Athletics Indoor Championships winners
British Athletics Championships winners
AAA Championships winners
European Athletics Indoor Championships winners
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain