Linsey Macdonald

Linsey Macdonald ( Linsey Tarrel Macdonald ; born February 12, 1964 ) is a former British sprinter .

Only 16 years old, she qualified in 1980 with a British record over 400 m for the Olympic Games in Moscow , where she reached the final and was eighth. In the 4-by-400-meter relay , the athlete (1.60 m; 44 kg), unusually thin for her discipline, was used as the start runner in that part of the competition that runs in fixed lanes in order to avoid physical contact with her competitors . The British quartet, which also consisted of Michelle Probert , Joslyn Hoyte-Smith and Donna Hartley , won the bronze medal.

This also marked the climax of her athletic career, because as the training effort increased, her injuries became troublesome. In 1981 she won bronze at the European Junior Championships. The following year she was eliminated from the European Athletics Championships in Athens in the preliminary stages and won bronze with the Scottish team in the 4 x 400 meter relay of the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane .

Linsey Macdonald started for the Pitreavie AAC. After training as a chemical engineer , she began studying medicine . Today she lives with her husband and two sons in Hong Kong , where she works as a family doctor .

Personal bests

• 100 m : 11.70 s, May 24, 1980, Edinburgh
• 200 m : 23.33 s, 9 June 1982, London
• 400 m: 51.16 s, June 15, 1980, London (former British record)

Web links

• Athlete portrait at The Power of Ten
• Could've been a contender , portrait of Simon Hattenstone in the Guardian , July 28, 2007
• Linsey Macdonald in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )