- Jessica Zelinka
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Jessica Zelinka Personal information Nationality Canadian Born September 3, 1981
London, OntarioHeight 172 cm / 5'8" Weight 62 kg / 135 lbs Sport Sport Heptathlon Club Independent Now coaching Les Gramantik Achievements and titles Personal best(s) 6490 points, Beijing, August 2008 Medal recordCommonwealth Games Silver 2010 Delhi Heptathlon Pan American Games Gold 2007 Rio de Janeiro Heptathlon Updated on October 2010. Jessica Zelinka (born September 3, 1981 in London, Ontario) is a Canadian pentathlete and heptathlete. Her personal best score is 6490 points, which was achieved at 2008 Summer Olympics and is the Canadian record for the event. She was the gold medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games and was runner-up at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Contents
Career
Zelinka first became interested in track and field in elementary school and competed in her first heptathlon at 16. Her first international competition was the 2000 IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics, where she was fifth in the heptathlon and also competed in the heats of the 100 meter hurdles. Zelinka's first major global outing came at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics and she finished in eleventh place. She just missed out on the medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games having finished in fourth place. Regional success came at the 2007 Pan American Games as she fended off Gretchen Quintana, among others, to top the podium and take the gold medal. She was selected for the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, but did not compete. She finished in fifth place at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
After her Olympic appearance, she took the 2009 season off from competition and had a daughter with her partner Nathaniel Miller, a Canadian international in water polo.[1]
Building up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she finished third in the heptathlon at the Décastar meeting in Talence, France. She earned a season's best total of 6204 points.[2] At the games Zelinka was battling the Delhi Belly that affected many athletes in Delhi. Despite the challenges she managed to finish a respectable second and win the silver. Though she did medal Zelinka admitted some disappointment as she had gone to Delhi to win gold.[3] Zelinka's medal was notable however as she just had a baby the previous year and had taken that season off and returned to competition only in this year of 2010.[3]
Zelinka's coach is Les Gramantik.
Results
Competition Place Score 2008 Canadian Track and Field Championships, Windsor, ON - Canada 1st 6017 11th Meeting International d'Arles, Arles - France 11th 5329 IAAF Combined Events Challenge, Götzis - Austria 21st 6034 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Beijing - China 5th 6490 2007 2007 Pan American Games, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil 1st 6136 World Combined Events Challenge, Arles - France 2nd 6218 IAAF Combined Events Challenge, Götzis - Austria 4th 6343 2006 32nd Hypo-Meet, Gotzis - Austria 4th 6314 9th Meeting International d'Arles - France 1st 6314 2006 Commonwealth Games, Melbourne - Australia 4th 6213 2005 31st Hypo-Meet, Götzis - Austria 11th 6137 Canadian Track and Field Championships, Winnipeg, MB - Canada 1st 5723 IAAF, Arles - France 4th 6088 2004 Canadian Track and Field Championships, Victoria, BC - Canada 1st 5890 Décastar de Talence - France 6th 5757 2003 Canadian Track and Field Championships, Victoria, BC - Canada 3rd 5716 2001 Canadian Track and Field Championships, Edmonton, AB - Canada 1st 5356 Toledo Invitational, Toledo, OH - United States 1st 5423 2000 Canadian Combined Junior Events Championships, Windsor, ON - Canada 1st 5465 2000 IAAF World Junior Championships, Santiago - Chile 5th 5688 1998 Junior Multi-Event Dual Meet, Dordrecht - Netherlands ? 5250 Source: Athletics Canada and IAAF
According to Jessica's profile on the 2006 Commonwealth Games, she missed much of the 1999 outdoor season because of an illness, as well as the 2002 season due to a back and hamstring injury.
Sponsors
One sponsor during the 2008-2009 season was Aird & Berlis LLP. Olympic news about Jessica Zelinka can be found on Aird & Berlis LLP's Quest for Gold mini-site.
References
- ^ Spencer, Donna (2011-06-23). Olympic pair ‘not easy on each other’. The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved on 2011-06-24.
- ^ van Kuijen, Hans (2010-09-19). Suarez and Chernova prevail in Talence - IAAF World Combined Events Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-09-19.
- ^ a b Randy Starkman (9 October 2010). "Heptathlete Jessica Zelinka goes the extra mile". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/sports/commonwealthgames/article/873309--heptathlete-jessica-zelinka-goes-the-extra-mile. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
External links
- www.jessicazelinka.com Jessica Zelinka's Official Website
- IAAF profile for Jessica Zelinka
- Biography at Athletics Canada
- Profile at Canadian Sport Centre Ontario
- RIO 2007 Canadian Olympic Team Handbook: Profile and Results
Pan American Champions in Women's Pentathlon and Heptathlon 1967–1979: Pentathlon · 1983–2007: Heptathlon 1951–1963: not held · 1967: Pat Winslow (USA) · 1971: Debbie Van Kiekebelt (CAN) · 1975 – 1979: Diane Jones-Konihowski (CAN) · 1983: Conceição Geremias (BRA) · 1987: Cindy Greiner (USA) · 1991: DeDee Nathan (USA) · 1995: Jamie McNeair (USA) · 1999: Magalys García (CUB) · 2003: Tiffany Lott-Hogan (USA) · 2007: Jessica Zelinka (CAN) · 2011: Lucimara da Silva (BRA)Categories:- 1981 births
- Living people
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Canadian heptathletes
- Canadian sportswomen
- Olympic track and field athletes of Canada
- People from London, Ontario
- Track and field athletes from Ontario
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games competitors for Canada
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