{{short description|Scottish Paralympic athlete}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox sportsperson | headercolor = yellow | name =Maria Lyle | image = | image_size = <!--Only for images narrower than 220 pixels. !--> | caption = | birth_name = | fullname = Maria Lyle | nickname = | nationality = {{GBR2}} | residence = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|2000|2|14|df=yes}} | birth_place = Dunbar, Scotland | death_date = | death_place = | height = <!-- {{convert| |cm|ftin}} (2012) !--> | weight = <!-- {{convert| |kg|lb}} (2012) !--> | website = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} !--> | country = Great Britain | sport = Athletics | event = T35 sprint | collegeteam = | club = Team East Lothian | team = | turnedpro = | coach = Jamie Bowie | retired = | coaching = | worlds = | regionals = | nationals = | olympics = | paralympics = | highestranking = 1st - 100m (T35) | pb = {{nowrap|100m sprint: 13.90s}}<br/>{{nowrap|200m sprint: 29.24s}} |medaltemplates= {{Medal|Sport | Women's Paralympic athletics}} {{Medal|Country|{{GBR2}}}} {{Medal|Competition|Paralympic Games}} {{Medal|Silver|2016 Rio|4 × 100m relay – T35-38}} {{Medal|Bronze|2016 Rio|100m – T35}} {{Medal|Bronze|2016 Rio|200m – T35}} {{Medal|Bronze| 2020 Tokyo| 100 m – T35}} {{Medal|Competition|World Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|{{nowrap|2015 Doha}}|4 × 100m relay – T35-38}} {{Medal|Silver|{{nowrap|2015 Doha}}|100m – T35}} {{Medal|Silver|{{nowrap|2015 Doha}}|200m – T35}} {{Medal|Bronze|{{nowrap|2017 London}}|100m – T35}} {{Medal|Bronze|{{nowrap|2017 London}}|200m – T35}} {{Medal|Bronze|2023 Paris|100m – T35}} {{Medal|Bronze|2023 Paris|200m – T35}} {{Medal|Competition|European Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|{{nowrap|2014 Swansea}}|100m – T35}} {{Medal|Gold|{{nowrap|2014 Swansea}}|200m – T35}} {{Medal|Gold|{{nowrap|2016 Grosseto}}|100m – T35}} {{Medal|Gold|{{nowrap|2016 Grosseto}}|200m – T35}} {{Medal|Gold|{{nowrap|2016 Grosseto}}|4 × 100m relay – T35-38}} {{Medal|Gold|{{nowrap|2018 Berlin}}|100m – T35}} {{Medal|Country|{{SCO}}}} {{Medal|Competition|Commonwealth Games}} {{Medal|Silver|2018 Gold Coast|100m – T35}} }}
'''Maria Lyle''' (born 14 February 2000) is a retired para-athlete from Scotland who competed mainly in T35 sprint events.<ref name="Power10">{{cite web|url=http://powerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=406256|title=Marie Lyle |publisher=thepowerof10.info|accessdate=17 October 2015}}</ref> At the age of 14 she set a world record in the 200m sprint, a record she has broken on several occasions. In 2014, she qualified for the IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea and won gold in both the 100m and 200m T35.
==Personal history== Lyle was born in Dunbar, Scotland, in 2000 to Raymond and Susan Lyle.<ref name="Spowart">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/young-scot-set-to-be-star-of-next-1339095|title=Young Scot who can already beat reigning champ set for stardom at next Paralympics Games|accessdate=17 October 2015|date=23 September 2012|work=dailyrecord.co.uk|author=Spowart, Nan}}</ref> She has one younger sister.<ref name="Spowart"/> She has spastic dipelgic cerebral palsy,<ref name="BBC 2014">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/26317242 |title=Britain's Maria Lyle sets world record on international debut|publisher=bbc.co.uk|date=25 February 2014|access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref> attributed to her mother contracting shingles while pregnant with her.<ref>{{cite news |first= Brian |last= McIver |date= 22 August 2014 |title= Scotland's new sporting hero Maria Lyle needed splints to help her walk as a child but is now a sprint champion |url= http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/real-life/scotlands-new-sporting-hero-maria-4087261 |publisher= Daily Record |accessdate= 18 June 2016}}</ref>
Lyle is a former pupil of Dunbar Grammar School, having also attended Oaklands College in Hertfordshire, graduating from the elite Oaklands Wolves Sports Academy in 2017. She is studying for a degree in sports coaching at Edinburgh Napier University on a dual career athlete programme under the UK government's Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maria is a World Champion twice over|url=https://www.napier.ac.uk:443/about-us/news/maria-lyle-world-champion/|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Napier|language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Maria Lyle relaxed ahead of Paralympic Games medal bid|url=https://www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/19395492.maria-lyle-relaxed-ahead-paralympic-games-medal-bid/|access-date=2021-08-27|website=East Lothian Courier|date=24 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
Lyle and journalist Gary Heatly co-host This Ability Podcast ([https://gh-media.co.uk/ GH Media]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=This Ability Podcast - via Podcast Addict|url=https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3018155|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Podcast Addict}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=This Ability Podcast on acast|url=https://play.acast.com/s/this-ability-podcast|access-date=2021-08-27|website=acast|language=en}}</ref>
==Running career== Lyle began running at the age of nine.<ref name="19elven">{{cite web|url=http://www.19eleven.co.uk/page/athletes/maria-lyle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108082511/http://www.19eleven.co.uk/page/athletes/maria-lyle|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 January 2017|title=Maria Lyle|accessdate=17 October 2015|work=19eleven.co.uk}}</ref> In 2009, she joined Dunbar Running Club and began competing at local and national meets mainly in sprint events.<ref name="19elven"/> In July 2012, at the age of 12, she posted a world record time of 32.37 in the 200m at the Birmingham Games.<ref name="Power10"/> Despite the fact that this was faster than the winning time of 32.72 set by China's Liu Ping in the 2012 Paralympic 200m T35 final, Lyle was ineligible for the Games as she was too young to be given a disability classification which also meant that her record time could not be officially accepted.<ref name="Spowart"/>
In 2014, she was classified as a T35 athlete and in February she travelled to Dubai to compete at the Fazaa International, an IPC Grand Prix event. There she entered both the 100m and 200m sprints. She won gold in the 100m with a time of 14.58, though this was classed as wind assisted so she could not claim it as a personal best.<ref name="Power10"/> In the 200m she ran 31.01, winning gold and beating Liu Ping's 2005 record of 32.27.<ref name="Power10"/><ref name="BBC 2014"/> Later that year in May she competed at the Bedford International Open and set a world record in the 100m of 14.63, and surpassed her own world record in the 200m with a time of 30.71.<ref name="Power10"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london2017athletics.com/news/40919|title=Maria Lyle|accessdate=17 October 2015|work=london2017athletics.com|archive-date=18 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918021725/http://www.london2017athletics.com/news/40919|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Lyle was selected for her first major international when she represented Great Britain at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea. In her first event, the 100m T35, she won gold with a time of 14.92, beating Italy's Oxana Corso by over a second and a half.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://85.17.198.3/static/info/swansea-2014/resipc/pdf/ec2014/at/ec2014_at_c73a_atw135101.pdf |title=Women's 100m - T34 Final |publisher=IPC |date=20 August 2014 |accessdate=17 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223807/http://85.17.198.3/static/info/swansea-2014/resipc/pdf/ec2014/at/ec2014_at_c73a_atw135101.pdf |archivedate=3 March 2016 }}</ref> The next day she took part in the 200m, and in poor weather conditions ran 31.05 to take her second European title.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/11049840/Maria-Lyle-wins-her-second-gold-of-the-IPC-European-Athletics-Championships-with-a-lightnig-quick-time-in-the-T35-200m.html |title=Maria Lyle wins her second gold of the IPC European Athletics Championships with a lightnig (sic) quick time in the T35 200m|publisher=The Telegraph|date=21 August 2014|accessdate=17 October 2015|work=Davies, Gareth A.}}</ref>
In the build up to the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, Lyle took part in the Newham International where she ran 13.90 in the 100m and 29.24 in the 200m sprint, though the times were unofficial and did not count as world records.<ref>{{cite web|title=Record-breaking duo boost Newham event |url=http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/sport/athletics/record_breaking_duo_boost_newham_event_1_4253794| publisher=newhamrecorder.co.uk|date=25 September 2015|accessdate=17 October 2015}}</ref> In Doha, Lyle's first event saw her line up against the new world record holder Isis Holt. Holt, a 14 year old from Australia, pushed Lyle into second place with a world record sprint, though Lyle's time of 29.32 was an official personal best and new European record.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fourteen-year-old Holt claims world title with record breaking win |url=http://www.paralympic.org/news/fourteen-year-old-holt-claims-world-title-record-breaking-win| publisher=paralympic.org|date=24 October 2015|accessdate=28 October 2015}}</ref>
At the 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships in Grosseto Lyle won three golds, in the T35 100m<ref>{{cite web |url=https://athleticsweekly.com/featured/david-weir-among-gold-medal-winners-on-day-two-in-grosseto-44729/ |title=David Weir among gold medal winners on day two in Grosseto |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=12 June 2016 |website=Athletics Weekly |access-date=9 September 2021}}</ref> 200m - where she set a new championship record of 29.91s -<ref>{{cite web |url=https://athleticsweekly.com/featured/jonnie-peacock-among-winners-gb-seven-more-golds-grosseto-44884/ |title=Jonnie Peacock among winners as GB gets seven more golds in Grosseto |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=15 June 2016 |website=Athletics Weekly |access-date=9 September 2021}}</ref> and the T35-T38 {{nowrap|4 × 100 m}} relay, alongside Olivia Breen, Georgina Hermitage and Sophie Hahn.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/36553453 |title=Paralympics GB: Olivia Breen helps Great Britain to IPC European relay gold |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=16 June 2016 |website=bbc.co.uk |access-date=9 September 2021}}</ref> At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, Lyle took individual bronze medals in the T35 100m and the 200m, and a silver as part of Team GB's T35-T38 {{nowrap|4 × 100 m}} relay squad. At the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London, she took two more medals, a bronze in the T35 100m and a silver in the 200m.<ref name=2018cg />
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Lyle took a silver in the T35 100m.<ref name=2018cg>{{cite web |url=https://results.gc2018.com/en/athletics/athlete-profile-n6025744-maria-lyle.htm |title=Maria Lyle |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=2018 Commonwealth Games |access-date=9 September 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909214834/https://results.gc2018.com/en/athletics/athlete-profile-n6025744-maria-lyle.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, after the Games, her mental health worsened, which she later admitted had led to her considering quitting the sport. She was diagnosed with anxiety, which she overcame with the support of a specialist sports counsellor.<ref name=toney>{{cite web |url=https://www.scotsman.com/sport/other-sport/paralympics-2021-relieved-stephen-clegg-wont-settle-until-medal-is-gold-maria-lyle-lands-bronze-3362678 |title=Paralympics 2021: Relieved Stephen Clegg won't settle until medal is gold; Maria Lyle lands bronze |last=Toney |first=James |date=27 August 2021 |website=scotsman.com |access-date=9 September 2021}}</ref> At the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships in Berlin, Lyle successfully defended her T35 100m title.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/maria-lyle-overcomes-personal-issues-take-european-gold-berlin-263768 |title=Maria Lyle overcomes personal issues to take European gold in Berlin |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=21 August 2018 |website=Edinburgh Evening News |access-date=9 September 2021}}</ref>
In June 2021 she was among the first dozen athletes chosen for the UK athletics teams at the postponed 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-06-23|title=British team for Paralympics starts to take shape|url=https://athleticsweekly.com/athletics-news/british-team-for-paralympics-starts-to-take-shape-1039946362/|access-date=2021-06-24|website=AW|language=en-GB}}</ref> At the Games she took another Paralympic bronze in the T35 100m.<ref name=toney /> She is coached by Jamie Bowie.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maria Lyle - Athletics | Paralympic Athlete Profile|url=https://www.paralympic.org/maria-lyle|access-date=2021-08-27|website=International Paralympic Committee|language=en}}</ref>
Lyle announced her retirement on 4 July 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cnl01yxrpp0o|title=Paralympic medallist Lyle reveals PTSD as she retires|publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=4 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/news-and-features/maria-lyle-brings-a-close-to-her-superb-career-in-the-sport/|title=MARIA LYLE BRINGS A CLOSE TO HER SUPERB CAREER IN THE SPORT|publisher=British Athletics|accessdate=4 July 2024}}</ref>
== Other awards == Lyle was awarded British Athletics Young Paralympic Athlete of the Year in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=British Athletics Athletes of the Year Announced|url=https://www.activityalliance.org.uk/news/921-british-athletics-athletes-of-the-year-announced|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Activity Alliance|date=12 December 2014 |language=en}}</ref> She was named Para Athlete of the Year at the Scottish Athletics annual awards in 2015 and 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Annual Awards|url=https://www.scottishathletics.org.uk/about/annual-awards/|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Scottish Athletics|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Scottish Athletics Para Athlete of the Year|url=http://www.lothiandisabilitysport.co.uk/news/scottish-athletics-para-athlete-of-the-year.html|access-date=2021-08-27|website=www.lothiandisabilitysport.co.uk|language=en-gb}}</ref> Lyle received the Findlay Calder trophy from Scottish Disability Sport in 2018 and 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-09-08|title=SDS Award Winners|url=https://www.scottishdisabilitysport.com/sds-award-winners/|access-date=2021-08-27|language=en-GB}}</ref> She was named Glasgow Evening Times Young Scotswoman of the Year in 2019 for her athletics achievements and her work with disability and mental health charities.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maria Lyle becomes Evening Times Young Scotswoman of the Year|url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/17502875.maria-lyle-becomes-evening-times-young-scotswoman-year/|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Glasgow Times|date=15 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyle, Maria}} Category:2000 births Category:Scottish women sprinters Category:British women sprinters Category:Living people Category:World record holders in para-athletics Category:Scottish disabled sportspeople Category:Sportswomen with disabilities Category:Track and field athletes with cerebral palsy Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Category:Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Category:Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Category:Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Scotland Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Category:World Para Athletics Championships winners Category:People from Dunbar Category:Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Category:Paralympic athletes for Great Britain Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Category:Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Category:Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Category:21st-century Scottish sportswomen Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Category:Medalists at the World Para Athletics European Championships