Tessa Sanderson

Tessa Sanderson (2008)

Tessa Sanderson (actually Theresa Ione Sanderson ; born March 14, 1956 in Saint Elizabeth Parish ) is a former British javelin thrower and Olympic champion of Jamaican origin.

In 1976 she was tenth at the Montreal Olympics . In 1978 she won silver at the European Championships in Prague and gold at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton , where she competed for England . At the Olympic Games in Moscow , she was eliminated in qualification.

A fourth place at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 1983 , followed the following year by her greatest triumph. At the Los Angeles Games , she became the first British black to win an Olympic gold medal.

A victory at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh was followed by fourth place at the World Cup in Rome in 1987 . In 1988 she was eliminated from the qualification at the Olympic Games in Seoul , and in 1990 she defended her title at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland .

Her last major success was fourth place at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. At the age of 40, she qualified for the sixth time for the Olympic Games, but did not make it past the preliminary round in Atlanta in 1996 or at the World Championships in Athens .

Web links

• Official website
• Athlete portrait at The Power of Ten
• Entry into the United Kingdom Athletics Hall of Fame