Derval O'Rourke (born 28 May 1981) is an Irish former
sprint hurdles athlete. She competed internationally in the
60 and
100 metres hurdles, and is the
Irish national record holder in the former. She participated in two
Indoor World Championships, five
Outdoor World Championships and the
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, and
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
Early life and education
Born in Cork, O'Rourke attended
University College, Dublin (UCD) where she held a sports scholarship between 2000 and 2004. She graduated with a BA (Hons) degree from the college in 2003 and a Diploma in Business Studies from the UCD
Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business in 2005.
Competition
Derval first broke 13 seconds when she finished 4th at the
2003 European Under 23 Athletics Championships in
Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...
, Poland, running a national record of 12.96 seconds, missing out on a medal by just 0.01 seconds. This mark saw her achieve the exact 'A standard' qualification time for the 2004 Olympics.
Also in 2003, she competed at her first World Athletics Championships in Paris before racing at her first Olympic Games in Athens, on both occasions failing to make it past the heats. In 2005 O'Rourke reached the semi-finals of the
World Championships in Helsinki. One week later, O'Rourke won the Bronze medal in the 100 m Hurdles at the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey in a time of 13.02 seconds. O'Rourke was also part of the Irish 4 × 100 m Relay team that won Bronze.
At the
2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olympic Stadium (Moscow arena), Olimpiyski Sport are ...
O'Rourke won the gold medal in the 60 m hurdles, becoming the first Irish woman to win an indoor world athletics championship. On her way to winning she broke the Irish national record twice and her winning time was 7.84 s.
O'Rourke had a successful 2006 outdoor track season after missing the initial part of the season due to injury. In the run up to the
European Championships, O'Rourke lowered her Irish national record for the
100 m hurdles twice and had a personal best of 12.85 s before the championships. In the
2006 European Championships in Athletics, O'Rourke finished joint second with
Kirsten Bolm and behind Swedish athlete and favourite,
Susanna Kallur in a time of 12.72, a new national record. Later in the same championship O'Rourke ran the first leg for the Irish
4 × 100 m relay team which included
Joanne Cuddihy,
Ailis McSweeney, and
Anna Boyle which set a new national record of 44.38 s.
The 2007 season proved less successful for O'Rourke. She did not participate in competition during the indoor season. She did however travel to
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, Japan for the
World Championships and qualified for the semi-finals but finished eighth. She ended the 2007 season with a best of 12.88 set in
Bochum
Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...
2008 was also a poor season for O'Rourke. She did not compete at the
World Indoor Championships, where she was the defending champion.
Lolo Jones
Lori Susan "Lolo" Jones (born August 5, 1982) is an American hurdler and Bobsleigh, bobsledder who specializes in the 60 metre hurdles, 60-meter and 100-meter hurdles. She won three NCAA titles and garnered 11 All-American honors while at Louisi ...
went on to win the championships and O'Rourke ended the indoor season with a best of 8.09 set in
Peanía. O'Rourke competed for Ireland in the
Women's 100-metre hurdles at the 2008
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
held in Beijing, China: she failed to qualify from her heat, finishing sixth in a time of 13.22 s.
O'Rourke showed a return to form in 2009, highlighted by her capturing of the bronze medal in the 60 m hurdles at the
2009 European Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy in a time of 7.97 s.
On 18 August 2009, O'Rourke qualified from her 100 m hurdles quarter-final at the
World Championships, coming in 2nd place in Heat 3 in a time of 12.86, a season's best. A time of 12.73 when finishing 3rd in her semi-final was good enough to qualify her for the World Championship final as a fastest loser.
In the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
on 19 August 2009, O'Rourke finished 4th behind winner
Brigitte Foster-Hylton,
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and
Delloreen Ennis-London, with a time of 12.67 setting a new national record and the fastest time by a European in 2009.
She was quoted afterwards as being "gutted not to have won a medal" but "It's a new national record, fourth in the world. I can't really complain."
O'Rourke chose not to compete in the
2010 World Indoor Championships in Athletics due to minor injury.
O'Rourke was one of the favourites for the European title at the
European Championships after a seasonal best of 12.71 in the semi-final and, her silver medal attained at the
2006 Championships amongst other chief contenders like
Carolin Nytra and
Christina Vukicevic. In the final, she won the silver medal once again. O'Rourke set an Irish record of 12.65, cutting .02secs off her previous mark. Turkey's
Nevin Yanit won in 12.63, just .02 of a second ahead. O'Rourke said after the race "Medals are very special and, winning a silver medal in a new Irish record, I would take every day of the week, I think when I look back on my career whenever it ends, the only thing that will count is medals because they go into the history books and can't be taken away". O'Rourke has now been the only Irish athlete to win medals at the
European Athletics Championships
The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe.
Editions
First held, for me ...
in 2006 and 2010. She was greeted by her fans, the media and the sports minister
Mary Hanafin when she landed home on 2 August.
O'Rourke was selected to represent Europe in the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup (Formerly IAAF World Cup) making her the 5th Irish person and second female to be selected to represent Europe after
John Treacy (7th in 1979),
Eamonn Coghlan (Gold in 1981),
John Doherty (Silver in 1991) and
Sonia O'Sullivan (5th in 1994, and Gold in 1998). O'Rourke finished 5th in a time of 12.99 seconds. The winner was
Sally Pearson in a time of 12.65.
After injury interrupted training O'Rourke competed in the 60 m Hurdles at the
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Paris. She finished 2nd in her heat in 8.07 seconds and then ran a season's best of 7.98 to come 3rd in the semi-final. O'Rourke finished 4th in the final, running another season's best of 7.96.
A the
2011 World Championships in Athletics
The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011.
The United States topped the medal standings in the ...
, O'Rourke finished second in her heat behind eventual champion
Sally Pearson of Australia who clocked 12.53. O'Rourke withdrew from her semi-final citing injury. She clocked a seasonal best of 12.84 at La Chaux-de-Fonds.
Heading to her third Olympics in 2012, O'Rourke would at last make the semi-finals where she posted a season's best of 12.91 seconds.
As her career wound down, O'Rourke picked up a fifth major medal - 60 m hurdles bronze at the
2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at Scandinavium and Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 1–3 March 2013.
Bidding process
The decision to grant the event for Gothenburg was made by the European Athletics Council at ...
in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
. This medal, however, was not awarded to her until 2015 when initial gold medalist, Nevin Yanit, had her result rescinded following multiple doping violations. This saw O'Rourke's 7.95 seconds finish elevated from fourth to the bronze medal position.
In June 2014 O'Rourke (Leevale AC) announced her retirement from athletics.
Personal life
O'Rourke and her husband, two-time Olympian
Peter O'Leary, welcomed their first child, daughter Dafne, in August 2015. Son Archie was then born in April 2019.
Major competition finals record
2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships (Gothenburg)
* – 60 m Hurdles (7.95 SB)
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships (Paris)
*4th place – 60 m Hurdles (7.96 SB)
2010 IAAF Continental Cup (Split)
*5th place –
100 m Hurdles (12.99)
2010 European Championships (Barcelona)
* –
100 m Hurdles (12.65 NR)
2009 World Championships (Berlin)
*4th place –
100 m Hurdles (12.67 NR)
2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships (Turin)
* – 60 m Hurdles (7.97 SB)
2006 European Championships (Gothenburg)
* – 100 m Hurdles (12.72 NR)
2006 World Indoor Championships (Moscow)
* – 60 m Hurdles (7.84 NR)
2005 World University Games (Izmir)
* –
100 m Hurdles (13.02)
2005 World University Games (Izmir)
* –
4 × 100 m Relay
2003 European Athletics U23 Championships (Bydgoszcz)
*4th place – 100 m Hurdles (12.96 NR)
Personal bests
*
All information taken from IAAF profile.O'Rourke Derval Biography
IAAF. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
National records
*Outdoor
**100 metres hurdles – 12.65 (Barcelona, 31 July 2010)
*Indoor
**60 metres hurdles – 7.84 (Moscow, 11 March 2006)
See also
* Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics
* Ireland at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics
* Ireland at the 2008 Summer Olympics
References
External links
Official Website
Official blog
*
Athletics Ireland Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Derval
1981 births
Living people
Irish female hurdlers
Athletes from the Republic of Ireland
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for Ireland
Athletes from Cork (city)
European Athletics Championships medalists
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Ireland
World Athletics Indoor Championships winners
Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade
21st-century Irish sportswomen