Elizabeth Gleadle

Elizabeth "Liz" Gleadle (born December 5, 1988 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian track and field athlete competing in the javelin throw. She competed in the javelin throw event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing 12th in the finals.[1]

Elizabeth Gleadle

Gleadle at the 2015 Bislett Games
Personal information
Born	December 5, 1988 Vancouver, British Columbia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Country	Canada
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Javelin
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	64.83m NR, Kawasaki, 2015
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Canada Pan American Games 2015 Toronto Javelin throw 2019 Lima Javelin throw Continental Cup 2014 Marrakech Javelin throw

Life and career

Elizabeth Gleadle was born in Vancouver, on December 5, 1988 to parents Dan and Sonia. Her parents enrolled her in almost every sport available throughout elementary school, including playing fastball for the Vancouver Wildcats Rep fastball team as a pitcher. In 2002, while in grade 8 at Kitsilano Secondary School, Liz threw javelin in Caroline Wittrin's gym class. That year she won the Vancouver City's with a throw of 17 metres. In 2004, while in grade 10, Bruce Miller, a parent helping coach the high school team, coached Liz to place 3rd at BC High School Championships, win the BC Youth Championships, and win the Canadian Youth Championships. In the fall of 2004, Elizabeth decided to concentrate on track and field, and joined the Vancouver Thunderbirds Track and Field Club with Coach Laurier Primeau. This was the first individual sport Elizabeth had pursued. After a couple months of winter training, she decided to focus solely on javelin. In the summer of 2005 she was the BC and Canadian Youth Champion, and made the World Youth Team to compete in Morocco, where she threw 50.51m, breaking the Canadian Youth Record and finishing 5th.

Her 2005 summer performances caught the attention of many. She was pursued by many NCAA Division 1 schools offering her full ride scholarships, however she stayed in Vancouver and competed for the University of British Columbia, in order to continue training with her coach and remain close to family and friends. Over the course of her university career, she won the NAIA Championships each of the four times she entered and set the NAIA record two times.

In the spring of 2011, Liz decided to take a break from her kinesiology degree at UBC, and commit herself full-time to training. She moved to the National Training Centre for throws in Lethbridge, Alberta with coach Lawrence Steinke. After the London Olympics, she resumed her studies while also training in Lethbridge.[2] Liz missed the entire 2013 competitive season due to a back injury, but after a rigorous training program she was able to return to action in 2014. She placed 5th at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games (throwing 60.69 meters).[3] On Sept. 13, 2014 she placed 3rd at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Liz broke her own Canadian record in May, 2015 (throwing 64.83 meters) while winning the Golden Grand Prix meet in Kawasaki, Japan. On July 4, 2015 Liz won the 2015 Canadian Track and Field Championships throwing 59 meters despite less-than-ideal conditions. She also finished 11th at that year's World Championships.[4]

During the 2016 Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver, one of Gleadle's throws went out of bounds and narrowly missed a cameraman, piercing his shirt. The cameraman finished shooting the event and she apologized immediately afterwards. She said, "I’m not going to throw a javelin at someone and not see if they’re OK. I don’t feel like that’s polite."[5]

In July 2016 she was officially named to Canada's Olympic team, but unfortunately couldn't repeat her performance at the previous Olympics.[6][4] In 2017, she again reached the World Championship final.[4]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
2005	World Youth Championships	Marrakech, Morocco	5th	50.53 m
2006	World Junior Championships	Beijing, China	12th	48.08 m
2008	NACAC U-23 Championships	Toluca, Mexico	1st	51.76 m A
2009	Universiade	Belgrade, Serbia	6th	58.21 m
2010	NACAC U23 Championships	Miramar, Florida, United States	1st	53.72 m
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	12th	58.78 m
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, United Kingdom	5th	60.69 m
	Continental Cup	Marrakech, Morocco	3rd	61.38 m^1
2015	Pan American Games	Toronto, Canada	1st	62.83 m
	World Championships	Beijing, China	11th	59.82 m
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	16th (q)	60.28 m
2017	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	12th	60.12 m
2018	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Australia	4th	59.85 m
2019	Pan American Games	Lima, Peru	2nd	63.30 m
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	16th (q)	60.17 m

¹Representing the Americas

References

1. "Elizabeth Gleadle". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
2. "Official Website - Biography". Archived from the original on 2014-05-24. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
3. "Glasgow 2014 - Women's Javelin Throw Final". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
4. "IAAF: Elizabeth Gleadle | Profile". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
5. Steve Ewen (June 18, 2016). "TV cameraman clipped by javelin at Harry Jerome Track Classic". The Province.
6. Hossain, Asif (11 July 2016). "Athletics Canada nominates largest squad to Team Canada for Rio". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 11 July 2016.

External links

• Elizabeth Gleadle at World Athletics
• Official website