Shelley Holroyd

Shelley Ann Holroyd (born May 17, 1973 in Salford, Greater Manchester, England) is a British javelin thrower.

She has lived and trained in Edmonton, Canada since December 2004. Holroyd is the 6th British Javelin Thrower to throw over 60m (1993) and the first thrower to reach an Olympic Games since Tessa Sanderson. Shelley started throwing at the age of 12 and at 13 threw 37m58cm to win the English Schools Championships. At the age of 16 Shelley Threw 52m50 and became a senior international athlete. In 1992 Shelley broke the English Schools record with 56m50 and it is still the longest throw of all time in the English Schools Javelin. Holroyd came 4th at the World Junior Championships (1992) and was ranked Britains number 1 Thrower. In 1993 Holroyd threw 60m10cm to win the World Championship Trials and qualified for the World Championships, Stuttgart.

Holroyd has had a tough time as an athlete. 1994 saw Shelley pull out of the Commonwealth Games after she found she had Glandular Fever whilst at the European Championships, Helsinki. In 1995 Holroyd had a car accident which she was seriously injured. This hindered her chances of making the Olympic team in 1996. After making a full recovery in August 95 Holroyd had another accident in December 95 when she broke her elbow when bounding over hurdles. Holroyd was told that full range of movement of her arm would not return. After four weeks Shelley returned to her training and qualified for the Olympics in July 1996.

1998 saw Holroyd suffer in the Kuala Lumpa Commonwealth Games. The elbow injury in 1995 had come back to haunt her and it was an injury that would see Shelley turn to Football. After having the operation it took a while for Shelley to return and it was in 2004 that Shelley looked to be returning to form when she threw 57m48cm at the Olympic Trials. In December 2004 Shelley moved to Edmonton, Canada to begin a full time training schedule to return to full fitness. June 2005 was a troubling time for Shelley. A lump had been found below her ear and it was sat on the facial nerve which caused many problems for Shelley. (The lump was successfully removed in September 2005). This didn't stop Shelley and in July 2005 Shelley qualified for her 3rd Commonwealth Games to be held in Melbourne. In December 2005 Shelley got married to a Canadian National and is still married to date. 2006 saw injury woe to Shelley again whilst in Melbourne. A freak accident had ended Shelley's career after 23 years of competing. Shelley competed in Melbourne in extreme agony and after competing Shelley finally called it a day. A grade 4 tear in the cartilage had destroyed the career of an athlete who had competed in every major championship since the age of 20.

Career Highlights

*1989 European Junior Championships (Varazdin, Yugoslavia)
*1991 European Junior Championships (Thessaloniki, Greece)
*1992 World Junior Championships (Seoul, South Korea)
*1993 World Championships (Stuttgart, Germany)
*1994 Commonwealth Games (Victoria, Canada) Withdrew due to illness
*1994 European Championships (Helsinki, Finland)
*1996 Olympic Games (Atlanta, USA)
*1997 World Championships (Athens, Greece)
*1998 Commonwealth Games (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
*2006 Commonwealth Games (Melbourne, Australia)

Domestic Championships

*English Schools Champion 1986, 1991, 1992
*North of England Champion 1991, 1992, 1993, 2005
*UK Championships 1989 3rd, 1992 2nd, 1997 2nd
*AAA’s Champion 1993, 1994 2nd in 1996, 1998, 2005 3rd in 2000, 2004

Facts

* Holroyd is a life member of the Sale Harriers club.

External links

* [http://shelleyholroyd.tripod.com/index.html Official website]
* [http://www.gbrathletics.com/tp/gbrw.htm GB Athletics Top Performers 1980-2005]
* [http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ho/shelley-holroyd-1.html sports-reference]