Jenny Meadows

{{Short description|British athlete (born 1981)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}} {{Use British English|date=January 2014}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Jennifer Meadows | image = Jenny Meadows bronze medal berlin world championships.jpg | caption = Meadows with her bronze medal after the 2009 World Championships | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|4|17|df=y}} | birth_place = Wigan, Greater Manchester, England | height = {{convert|1.52|m|ftin}} | weight = {{convert|47|kg|lbs}} | sport = Athletics | event = 800 metres, 400 m | club = Wigan & District Harriers | turnedpro = 2004 | retired = 2016 | coach = Trevor Painter | coaching = Keely Hodgkinson | pb = {{ubl |'''800 m''': 1:57.93 (2009) |'''400 m''': 52.67 (2003) |''Indoors'' |'''800 m''': 1:58.43{{AthAbbr|i}} (2010) }} | highestranking = '''800 m''': 3 (2009) | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Women's athletics}} {{Medal|Country|{{GBR2}}}} {{Medal|Competition|World Championships}} {{Medal|Bronze|2009 Berlin|800 m}} {{Medal|Bronze|2009 Berlin|4 × 400 m relay}} {{Medal|Competition|World Indoor Championships}} {{Medal|Silver | 2010 Doha |800 m}} {{Medal|Competition|Diamond League}} {{Medal|1st|2011|800 m}} {{Medal|Competition | European Championships}} {{Medal|Silver|2010 Barcelona|800 m}} {{Medal|Competition|European Indoor Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|2011 Paris|800 m}} {{Medal|Silver|2011 Paris|4 × 400 m relay}} {{Medal|Competition|European Team Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|2011 Stockholm|800 m}} {{Medal|Silver|2009 Leiria|4 × 400 m relay}} {{Medal|Competition|European Cup}} {{Medal|Gold|2008 Annecy|800 m}} {{Medal|Competition|European U23 Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|2001 Amsterdam|4 × 400 m relay}} {{Medal|Silver|2003 Bydgoszcz|4 × 400 m relay}} {{Medal|Competition|World Junior Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|2000 Santiago|4 × 400 m relay}} {{MedalCompetition|Commonwealth Games}} {{MedalSilver | 2002 Manchester | 4 × 400 metres }} }}

'''Jennifer Brenda''' "'''Jenny'''" '''Meadows''' (born 17 April 1981)<ref name="P10profile">{{cite web|title=Jenny Meadows – Profile|url=https://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=1091|access-date=2021-01-01|website=Power of 10 / thepowerof10.info}}</ref><ref name="WAprofile">{{cite web|title=Jennifer MEADOWS – Athlete profile|url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/great-britain-ni/jennifer-meadows-14275784|access-date=2021-01-01|website=World Athletics}}</ref> is a retired British athlete. Her main event was the 800 metres although earlier in her career she also competed over the 400 metres. In the 800&nbsp;m she won a bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships, and a silver at the 2010 World Indoor Championships. At the European Athletics Championships, Meadows took silver outdoors in 2010 and gold indoors in 2011. She also had some international success as part of the Great Britain women's 4 × 400 metres relay squad.

Meadows was the 2011 Diamond League 800&nbsp;m winner. In 2009, she was the third-fastest British woman over the distance, and was the eighth-fastest as of 2022. She was multiple British national champion. Meadows, along with other athletes such as Caster Semenya and Alysia Montano, has been noted in the press as one of a number of athletes who were repeatedly denied major international medals by doping competitors, particularly from Russia.<ref name="LostMedals">{{Cite web |last=Bloom |first=Ben |date=2014-12-14 |title=Jenny Meadows left angered by Russian drug claims |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/11292638/Jenny-Meadows-left-angered-by-Russian-drug-claims.html |access-date=2016-02-26 |website=The Daily Telegraph |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-02-26 |title=Jenny Meadows: 'I almost retired because I didn't think clean athletes could win' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/26/jenny-meadows-i-almost-retired-russian-doping-cheats |access-date=2016-02-26 |website=TheGuardian.com}}</ref>

==Early career== In January 1989, 7-year-old Jenny Meadows joined Wigan & District Harriers.<ref name="BBC2014">{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Aimee |date=2014-02-06 |title=Meadows back after 'physical & mental' torture |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/26035729 |access-date=2022-09-18}}</ref> She was the 800 metres winner at the English Schools Junior (under 15 in this case) Championships in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web |title=English Schools Championships (Girls) |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/esg.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918202053/http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/esg.htm |archive-date=2022-09-18 |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=gbrathletics.com}}</ref> In 1998, she was third at the AAA Junior Indoor Championships in the 400 metres. She also finished second over the distance at the English Schools Championships.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

The 18-year-old represented Great Britain in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 1999 European Athletics Junior Championships in Riga.<ref name="WAprofile" /> A year later, she ran the fastest leg of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay for the British team at the World Junior Championships held in Santiago, helping to secure the gold medal. In 2001 at the European Under-23 Championships in Amsterdam, she finished sixth in the 400&nbsp;m, and gained a gold in the women's 4 × 400&nbsp;m relay.<ref name="WAprofile" />

==Senior career== During the 2000s, she gradually shifted to the 800 metres distance as her specialist event. In 2002, she won her first senior British title in the indoor 800&nbsp;m and a year later took gold in the indoor 400&nbsp;m.<ref name="WAprofile" /> Meadows was part of the England team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and won a silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay event with Helen Frost, Melanie Purkiss, Lisa Miller and Helen Karagounis.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/manchester-2002/athletes |title=Manchester 2002 Team |website=Team England |access-date=5 April 2025 }}</ref>

Apart from relays at several major events, Meadows represented Great Britain at the 2001 European U23 Championships (400&nbsp;m), 2002 European Indoor Championships (800&nbsp;m), home 2003 World Indoor Championships (400&nbsp;m), and 2003 European U23 Championships (400&nbsp;m).<ref name="WAprofile" /> She reached the 800&nbsp;m semi-finals at the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow in a time of 2:03.95; women's 4 × 400&nbsp;m relay squad finished sixth.

The 25-year-old reached the final and placed fifth in the 800&nbsp;m event at the European Indoor Championships Birmingham 2007, and went out of the competition in the semi-finals of the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan with 1:59.39.<ref name="WAprofile" /> This was Meadows' first season, when she ran under 2 minutes and she did it both indoors and outdoors.<ref name="WAprofile" />

===2008: Beijing Olympics=== She finished fifth in the final of her new signature event at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain.

On 21 June 2008, in Annecy, Meadows achieved her first European Cup victory over the 800&nbsp;m. On 18 July, she improved her personal best in the event to 1:59.11 at the Paris Golden League meeting. On 19 July, her place in the Beijing 2008 Great Britain Olympic Team was confirmed along with Marilyn Okoro and Jemma Simpson. Meadows qualified for the semi-final of the 800&nbsp;m event at the Olympic Games after finishing 3rd in her heat with a time of 2.00.33, and in the semi itself ran close to her personal best in a time of 1.59.43, finishing in sixth place.<ref name="WAprofile" />

===2009: World bronze medallist=== She had a successful indoor season during 2009 winning the UK Championships / European Indoor Trials, setting a new indoor personal best of 1.59.52 at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix, and finishing in fourth place in the European Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy.<ref name="WAprofile" />

On 27 July, her place in the Great Britain Team for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany in August was confirmed, along with Jemma Simpson and Marilyn Okoro. On 28 July, Meadows set a new outdoor personal best of 1.58.63 at the IAAF Super Grand Prix, Herculis in Monaco.<ref>Turner, Chris (2009-07-28). [http://www.iaaf.org/GP09/news/kind=100/newsid=52362.html Hurdlers delight on a spectacular evening in Monaco – IAAF World Athletics Tour]. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.</ref> On 19 August, she took the bronze medal in the World Championship 800&nbsp;m final in a new lifetime best of 1.57.93, becoming the third-fastest British women of all time at the event.<ref name="P10profile" /> In a BBC interview after winning the bronze medal, Meadows commented: "It proves you should never say never, you should always believe in yourself. If you work hard and keep the faith, good things will happen."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kessel |first=Anna |date=2009-08-19 |title=Caster Semenya wins 800m gold but cannot escape gender controversy |url=http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/aug/19/caster-semenya-800m-world-athletics-championships-gender |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

===2010: World Indoor Championship & European Championship silver medals=== Meadows started the season in great form and on 20 February broke the 7-year British indoor 800&nbsp;m record, formerly held by Kelly Holmes, with a time of 1:59:11 in Birmingham. She went on to improve her record at the World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar on 14 March, where she was awarded the captaincy of the Great Britain team, and claimed the silver medal in 1:58.43.<ref name="WAprofile" />

At the European Championships in Barcelona, Meadows won a bronze, which was later upgraded to silver due to a doping offence by the Russian winner.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-12 |title=Hodgkinson and Muir lead the British charge in the middle and long distances in Munich 2022 |url=https://www.european-athletics.com/news/hodgkinson-and-muir-lead-the-british-charge-in-the-middle-and-long-distances-in-munich-2022 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=European Athletics |language=en}}</ref>

thumb|left|upright=1|Meadows won the 800&nbsp;m race at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow in 2011

===2011: European indoor champion & Diamond League winner=== At the Paris European Indoor Championships, she earned two medals, securing the silver medal for the 800&nbsp;m event and a silver as part of British women's 4 × 400 metres relay.<ref name="WAprofile" /> As the Russian winner was eventually banned for doping, silver for her individual event was later promoted to gold.<ref name="LostMedals" />

On 31 July, at the age of 30, Jenny finally won her first British senior outdoor title with an 800&nbsp;m victory at the Aviva National Championships in Birmingham to become national champion.<ref name="P10profile" />

Meadows won three of the seven Diamond League 800&nbsp;m races in 2011 – in Shanghai, Birmingham (promotional event) and London (earning $10,000 a win) – to win the overall Diamond League 800&nbsp;m title.<ref name="WAprofile" /> Each overall winner earned an additional $40,000 (US Dollars) in prize money.

She reached the semi-finals of the World Championships Daegu 2011 in South Korea (1:59.07). All three Russian finalists including Yuliya Stepanova, who denied Meadows qualification for the final from the semi, were later disqualified for doping.<ref name="LostMedals" />

===2012–13=== [[File:9045 finale 800m (15000353215).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Meadows (far right) leads the pack at the 2013 European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg]] Achilles injury in 2012 forced her to miss competing in her home London Olympics and in the whole season.<ref name="BBC2014" />

She only competed in two competitions in 2013. Much to the delight of the British fans, Meadows returned to action in February of that year (her first time since September 2011) and finished second at the British Indoor Grand Prix. She placed fourth in the final of the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg in March, just months after undergoing ankle surgery.<ref name="WAprofile" /> The following year, at least one athlete who finished ahead of her was banned for doping offences, however, the result of this event remained unchanged.<ref name="LostMedals" /> In the summer of 2013, she injured in turn her thigh and was ruled out of the outdoor season, including 2013 World Championships.<ref name="BBC2014" />

===2014–2015=== Meadows returned to competition at the start of 2014, running the indoor season and then taking part in her first outdoor season since 2011. She steadily improved performances and on 16 June her place in the England Team for the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was announced. At the British National Championships in June, she secured a bronze. Jenny finished in sixth place at the Commonwealth Games.<ref name="WAprofile" />

She had the best indoor 800&nbsp;m mark of the 2014/15 season in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Season Top lists – 800 m Women – World Indoors {{!}} 2014/15 |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/800-metres/indoor/women/senior/2015?regionType=world&timing=electronic&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true&oversizedTrack=regular |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=World Athletics}}</ref> She was a favourite for the title at the European Indoor Championships in Prague but days before the event contracted a heavy cold/flu and was not at her best. She ran the heats and semi-final but was not well enough to contest the final. Meadows described this as a real low of her career after battling back from injury and drugs cheats for a cold/flu to take away her victory this time. She competed throughout the rest of 2015 but was very disheartened by what she had faced the past few years. She was eliminated in the semi-finals at the World Championships Beijing 2015.<ref name="WAprofile" />

===Retirement=== The 35-year-old announced her retirement on 7 July 2016, after an injury sustained in the semi-final of the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam meant that she would be unable to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 July 2016 |title=Rio 2016: Jenny Meadows retires after injury ends Olympic hopes |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/36740865 |access-date=15 August 2016 |website=BBC Sport |publisher=}}</ref>

==Non-competitive career== Meadows was head athletics coach for Manchester City Council before becoming a full-time athlete.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2007-05-10 |title=Jenny's a role model |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/other-sport/jennys-a-role-model-991824 |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}}</ref> She has appeared on the BBC's ''A Question of Sport'' in Matt Dawson's team on 13 March 2010, and on the BBC's ''Mastermind'' in December 2011, in which her specialist subject was Wigan Warriors.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Celebrity Mastermind |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018x171 |access-date=15 August 2022 |website=BBC |publisher=}}</ref>

In 2017, she worked as a pacemaker at major events, including IAAF Indoor Permit, IAAF World Challenge and Diamond League meets.<ref name="WAprofile" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bloom |first=Ben |date=2017-10-03 |title=Jenny Meadows: 'I couldn't believe it - I would run two-thirds of a race and earn more than when I was competing' |language=en-GB |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2017/10/03/jenny-meadows-couldnt-believe-would-run-two-thirds-race-earn/ |access-date=2017-10-03 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

After retirement, Meadows has worked as a UK Athletics coach, athletics commentator and event host. She joined the BBC Sport team covering athletics at the 2016 Rio Olympics.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} She has worked as a commentator for World Athletics at least since 2019, as of 2022.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=2020-04-06 |title=Women's 800m Final {{!}} World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zujxPTG54ZQ&t=146s |access-date=2022-03-11 |time=2:26 |location= |publisher=World Athletics |via=YouTube}}</ref> She was a pundit on the BBC coverage of the 2022 European Athletics Championships.

Since 2019 Meadows has been a Director of [https://www.totallyrunable.com Totally Runable Ltd], a company co-founded by Emily Freeman who work with schools using running to build confidence in sport. She is also part of Keely Hodgkinson's coaching team along with her husband Trevor Painter.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Henderson|first=Jason|date=2020-10-09|title=Multiple targets for Keely Hodgkinson in 2021|url=https://athleticsweekly.com/interviews/multiple-targets-keely-hodgkinson-2021-1039936008|access-date=2021-01-30|website=AW}}</ref> Meadows and Painter jointly won the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/articles/czeny93yk22o|title=Painter and Meadows win Coach of the Year award|date=17 December 2024 |publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=17 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/other-sport/keely-hodgkinson-jenny-meadows-and-trevor-painter-complete-sports-personality-hat-trick-4914069|title=Keely Hodgkinson, Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter complete Sports Personality hat-trick|date=17 December 2024 |publisher=Wigan Today|accessdate=17 December 2024}}</ref>

==Statistics== ===International competitions=== {|{{AchievementTable|Event=yes|Time=yes|NotesOff=yes}} |+Representing {{GBR2}} / {{ENG}} |- |1999 |European U20 Championships |Riga, Latvia |4th |4 × 400 m relay |3:36.62 |- |rowspan=2|2000 |rowspan=2|World U20 Championships |rowspan=2|Santiago, Chile |11th (sf) |400 m |54.27 |- |bgcolor=gold|1st |4 × 400 m relay |3:33.82 {{AthAbbr|WJL}} |- |rowspan=2|2001 |rowspan=2|European U23 Championships |rowspan=2|Amsterdam, Netherlands |6th |400 m |54.05 |- |bgcolor=gold|1st |4 × 400 m relay |3:31.74 |- |rowspan=2|2002 |European Indoor Championships |Vienna, Austria |(h) |800 m {{AthAbbr|i}} |{{AthAbbr|DNF}} |- |2002 Commonwealth Games |Manchester, United Kingdom |bgcolor=silver|2nd |4 × 400 m relay |3:30.63 {{refn|group=n|name=heats|Time from the heats; Meadows was replaced in the final.}} |- |rowspan=5|2003 |rowspan=2|World Indoor Championships |rowspan=2|Birmingham, United Kingdom |10th (sf) |400 m i |53.36 |- |4th |4 × 400 m relay i |3:32.18 {{AthAbbr|NR}} |- |rowspan=2|European U23 Championships |rowspan=2|Bydgoszcz, Poland |7th |400 m |53.17 |- |bgcolor=silver|2nd |4 × 400 m relay |3:30.44 |- |World Championships |Saint-Denis, France |6th |4 × 400 m relay |3:26.67 |- |2004 |World Indoor Championships |Budapest, Hungary |7th (h) |4 × 400 m relay i |3:33.30 {{AthAbbr|SB}} |- |rowspan=3|2006 |rowspan=2|World Indoor Championships |rowspan=2|Moscow, Russia |9th (sf) |800 m i |2:03.95 |- |6th |4 × 400 m relay i |3:29.70 |- |European Championships |Gothenburg, Sweden |4th |4 × 400 m relay |3:27.92 {{refn|group=n|name="heats"}} |- |rowspan=2|2007 |European Indoor Championships |Birmingham, United Kingdom |5th |800 m i |2:00.25 |- |World Championships |Osaka, Japan |11th (sf) |800 m |1:59.39 {{AthAbbr|PB}} |- |rowspan=4|2008 |World Indoor Championships |Valencia, Spain |5th |800 m i |2:03.51 |- |European Cup |Annecy, France |bgcolor=gold|1st |800 m |2:01.20 |- |Olympic Games |Beijing, China |15th (sf) |800 m |1:59.43 |- |World Athletics Final |Stuttgart, Germany |7th |800 m |2:00.80 |- |rowspan=5|2009 |European Indoor Championships |Turin, Italy |4th |800 m i |2:00.42 |- |European Team Championships Super League |Leiria, Portugal |bgcolor=silver|2nd |4 × 400 m relay |3:29.29 |- |rowspan=2|World Championships |rowspan=2|Berlin, Germany |bgcolor=cc9966|3rd |800 m |1:57.93 PB |- |bgcolor=cc9966|3rd |4 × 400 m relay |3:25.23 SB {{refn|group=n|name="heats"}} |- |World Athletics Final |Thessaloniki, Greece |bgcolor=cc9966|3rd |800 m |2:00.41 |- |rowspan=2|2010 |World Indoor Championships |Doha, Qatar |bgcolor=silver|2nd |800 m i |1:58.43 NR |- |European Championships |Barcelona, Spain |bgcolor=silver|2nd |800 m |1:59.39 |- |rowspan=4|2011 |rowspan=2|European Indoor Championships |rowspan=2|Paris, France |bgcolor=gold|1st |800 m i |2:00.50 |- |bgcolor=silver|2nd |4 × 400 m relay i |3:31.36 |- |European Team Championships Super League |Stockholm, Sweden |bgcolor=gold|1st |800 m |1:59.47 |- |World Championships |Daegu, South Korea |9th (sf) |800 m |1:59.07 |- |2012 |European Championships |Helsinki, Finland |– |800 m |{{AthAbbr|DNS}} |- |2013 |European Indoor Championships |Gothenburg, Sweden |4th |800 m i |2:01.52 |- |rowspan=2|2014 |European Team Championships Super League |Braunschweig, Germany |7th |800 m |2:03.97 |- |Commonwealth Games |Glasgow, United Kingdom |6th |800 m |2:02.19 |- |rowspan=2|2015 |European Indoor Championships |Prague, Czech Republic |– (f) |800 m i |DNS |- |World Championships |Beijing, China |22nd (sf) |800 m |2:00.53 |- |2016 |European Championships |Amsterdam, Netherlands |17th (sf) |800 m |2:03.13 |}

===Circuit wins and titles=== * Diamond League 800&nbsp;m champion: 24px 2011 :: 800 metres wins. :* 2011: Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, British Grand Prix, London Grand Prix ({{AthAbbr|SB}})

===National titles=== * British Athletics Championships ** 800 metres: 2011 * British Indoor Athletics Championships ** 400 metres: 2003 ** 800 metres: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015

==Notes== {{reflist|group=n}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{official website|http://www.jennymeadows.co.uk}} * [https://www.totallyrunable.com Totally Runable website] * {{sports links}}

{{Footer European Indoor Champions 800m Women}} {{Footer World Athletics U20 Champions women's 4x400 metres}} {{Footer U23 European Champions 4x400m Women}} {{Footer IAAF Diamond League 800 Metres Champions Women}} {{British Athletics Championships women's 800 metres champions}} {{British Indoor Athletics Championships women's 800 metres champions}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meadows, Jennifer}} Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from Wigan Category:English women middle-distance runners Category:British women middle-distance runners Category:English women sprinters Category:British women sprinters Category:Olympic women middle-distance runners Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Category:Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Category:FISU World University Games silver medalists for Great Britain Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain Category:World Athletics Championships medalists Category:European Athletics Championships medalists Category:British Athletics Championships winners Category:Diamond League winners Category:Alumni of Liverpool Hope University Category:21st-century English sportswomen Category:British Diamond League winners Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics