Biography:

Liz Gleadle surprised many in her Olympic debut at London 2012 when she became the first Canadian woman to qualify for an Olympic javelin final since 1968. She was also Canada’s first female Olympian in javelin since 1988. But she had her true breakout season in 2014, after having missed all of 2013 with a back injury. She broke her Canadian record twice, finished fifth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, won bronze at the IAAF Continental Cup, and won gold at the Birmingham Grand Prix Diamond League event, competing against an elite international field. She improved her Canadian record to 64.83m in May 2015 before going on to win gold at the Pan Am Games in Toronto. Later that summer, she made the final in her IAAF World Championship debut and won silver at the Diamond League final in Zurich, defeating the new world champion. Gleadle has won five Canadian titles (2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015). She competed at the 2005 IAAF World Youth Championships just one year after deciding to focus on track and field.

Getting to know…

Family: Parents Dan and Sonia Gleadle… Getting into the Sport: Threw her first javelin in her grade 8 gym class… Was invited to try out for the track team when she was the only one who didn’t flip it or hit herself in the back of the head… Decided to focus on track and field in 2004… Made the difficult but necessary move to Lethbridge for training in 2011, fueling her Olympic desires… Outside Interests: Graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology… Enjoys reading, baking (makes a mean gluten/dairy/sugar-free banana bread) and cooking (while trying to not burn the house down)… Says she has an unhealthy addiction to playing Candy Crush… During the off-season tries to say “yes” to more experiences that she wouldn’t do while competing… KidSport ambassador… Odds and Ends: Favourite motto: “Keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars”…

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