Goldie Sayers

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Goldie Sayers

| image = Goldie Sayers, New UK record.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Sayers setting a new UK javelin record at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix, 2012

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1982|7|16}}{{cite web|url=http://extras.thetimes.co.uk/public/olympic_athletes/athletics/women/goldie-sayers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821103716/http://extras.thetimes.co.uk/public/olympic_athletes/athletics/women/goldie-sayers |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 August 2014 |title=Meet Team GB |work=The Times |access-date=22 June 2013}}

| birth_place = Newmarket, Suffolk, England

| height = {{convert|5|ft|7|in|m|2|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|11|st|kg|abbr=on}}

| sport = Athletics

| event = Javelin

| coach =

| highestranking =

| pb =

| medaltemplates =

{{Medal|Country|{{GBR2}}}}

}}

Katherine Dinah "Goldie" Sayers (born 16 July 1982) is a British former javelin thrower, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Sayers, born in Newmarket, Suffolk, England, was educated at Fairstead House School, Newmarket, and at The King's School, Ely.

{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/2342800/My-School-Sport-Goldie-Sayers.html|title=My School Sport: Goldie Sayers|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=10 August 2006|access-date=22 June 2013 | location=London}} She played hockey, netball and tennis at county level, and was an under 11 national table tennis champion.{{cite news| last = Powell| first = David| title = Goldilocks bears burden of flying flag for country| work = Times Online| publisher = Times Newspapers| date = 21 June 2007| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article1963731.ece | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110924194417/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article1963731.ece | url-status = dead | archive-date = 24 September 2011 | access-date =10 November 2008 |location=London}}

Career highlights

File:Goldie Sayers.jpg

Sayers first came to prominence when setting national junior records and winning national titles, in 2001. Sayers also served as the captain of Great Britain's women's under 20 team, this season. The following season, Sayers represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and finished in sixth place.{{cite web|url=https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/manchester-2002/athletes |title=Manchester 2002 Team |website=Team England |access-date=5 April 2025 }}

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Sayers represented Great Britain but failed to make the final at her first Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/106491 |title=Biographical Information |website=Olympedia |access-date=5 April 2025}} She finished twelfth at both the 2005 World Championships and 2006 European Championships but she did finish fifth at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/commonwealth_games/results/4782604.stm|title=Commonwealth Games Results|website=BBC Sport|date=19 March 2006 }}

The early 2007 season boded well for Sayers, setting two UK records; on 20 May 2007, Sayers set a new British record in the javelin at {{T&Fcalc|65.05}}, thus becoming the first British woman to throw over 65 metres since javelins were redesigned in 1999. Sayers set the record when competing for her university, Loughborough, at the Loughborough International match. She cemented this achievement at the Norwich Union Glasgow Grand Prix on 3 June 2007 where she beat a top-class international field in rainy conditions with a throw of 63.59 m.

She defeated high-class rivals, such as Germany's European champion Steffi Nerius and the Czech Republic's Barbora Špotáková, who went on to win the world title that season, at a championship where Sayers finished 18th in qualifying, with her worst result of the season: 57.23 m.

On 15 March 2008 Sayers won the European Cup of Winter Throwing title in Split, Croatia, with a throw of 63.65 m.

Sayers originally finished fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, setting a new British record of 65.75 m. However in 2016 the Russian third placed athlete, Mariya Abakumova, tested positive for banned substances after a re-analysis of her sample, meaning that Sayers would be upgraded to the bronze medal position. She eventually received her Olympic bronze medal on 20 July 2019 at the London Anniversary Games, 11 years later.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/49056512|title=Anniversary Games: Goldie Sayers receives medal 11 years on|date=2019-07-20|access-date=2019-07-20|language=en-GB}}

She improved her British record to 66.17m at the London Grand Prix Diamond League meeting in London in 2012.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18843737|title=Goldie Sayers breaks GB javelin record at London Grand Prix|work=BBC Sport |date=14 July 2012 |access-date=14 July 2012}}

On 4 July 2012, Sayers carried the Olympic Torch through Bourne in Lincolnshire.{{cite web |url=http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/torchbearers/torchbearers=goldie-sayers-5867/ |title=Goldie Sayers – Olympic Torchbearers – 2012 Olympics |publisher=London 2012 |access-date=22 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724085038/http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/torchbearers/torchbearers%3Dgoldie-sayers-5867/ |archive-date=24 July 2012 |df=dmy-all }}

On 7 August 2012, Sayers competed in the women's javelin at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but had sustained an injury to her right arm and was unable to feel her throwing hand. She threw three attempts but failed to throw the qualification distance and so stepped over the line and was knocked out of the competition without recording a mark.{{cite web|url=http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event=athletics-women-javelin-throw/|title=Women's Javelin Throw – Olympic Athletics – London 2012|access-date=7 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801032531/http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event%3Dathletics-women-javelin-throw/|archive-date=1 August 2012|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19164824|title=Olympics athletics: GB's Goldie Sayers' emotional javelin exit|access-date=7 August 2012}}

Domestically, Sayers won a remarkable eleven British javelin throw titles, ten of which were consecutive from 2003 to 2012.{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=5 April 2025}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/waaa.htm |title=AAA Championships (women) |website=GBR Athletics |access-date=5 April 2025 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/20030728/590/0027 |title=Athletics |work=Aberdeen Press and Journal |date=28 July 2003 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=6 April 2025}}

Sayers subsequently had elbow surgery which involved a ligament being removed from her right wrist and inserted in her left arm. She lost her funding from UK Athletics at the end of 2014, but philanthropist Barrie Wells agreed to fund Sayers' training in exchange for helping heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson improve her javelin throwing.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/09/javelin-heptathlon-goldie-sayers-katarina-johnson-thompson |title=Unconventional 'stroke of genius' boosts Britain's bid for heptathlon gold |last1=Gibson |first1=Owen |date=9 February 2015 |website=theguardian.com |access-date=21 February 2015}}

International competitions

{{AchievementTable}}
colspan="5"\|Representing the {{GBR}} and {{ENG}}
1998 \|World Junior Championships \|Annecy, France \|22nd (q) \|45.54 m (old spec.)
1999 \|World Youth Championships \|Bydgoszcz, Poland \|5th \|47.86 m
2000 \|World Junior Championships \|Santiago, Chile \|6th \|51.52 m
2001 \|European Junior Championships \|Grosseto, Italy \| style="background:silver;"\|2nd \|55.40 m
2002 \|Commonwealth Games \|Manchester, United Kingdom \|6th \|51.32 m
2003 \|European U23 Championships \|Bydgoszcz, Poland \|11th \|53.90 m
2004 \|Olympic Games \|Athens, Greece \|20th (q) \|59.11 m
rowspan=2\|2005 \|World Championships \|Helsinki, Finland \|12th \|54.44 m
Universiade \|İzmir, Turkey \|4th \|56.25 m
rowspan=2\|2006 \|European Championships \|Gothenburg, Sweden \|12th \|54.70 m
Commonwealth Games \|Melbourne, Australia \|5th \|57.29 m
2007 \|World Championships \|Osaka, Japan \|18th (q) \|57.23 m
2008 \|Olympic Games \|Beijing, China \| style="background:#CC9966;" \| 3rd \|65.75 m
2009 \|World Championships \|Berlin, Germany \|13th (q) \|58.98 m
2011 \|World Championships \|Daegu, South Korea \|10th \|58.18 m
rowspan=2\|2012 \|European Championships \|Helsinki, Finland \|4th \|63.01 m
Olympic Games \|London, United Kingdom \| – \|NM
rowspan=2\|2014 \|Commonwealth Games \|Glasgow, United Kingdom \|7th \|57.68 m
European Championships \|Zürich, Switzerland \|8th \|58.33 m
2015 \|World Championships \|Beijing, China \|26th (q) \|58.28 m
2016 \|European Championships \|Amsterdam, Netherlands \|26th (q) \|53.56 m

colspan="5"|Representing the {{GBR}} and {{ENG}}

1998

|World Junior Championships

|Annecy, France

|22nd (q)

|45.54 m (old spec.)

1999

|World Youth Championships

|Bydgoszcz, Poland

|5th

|47.86 m

2000

|World Junior Championships

|Santiago, Chile

|6th

|51.52 m

2001

|European Junior Championships

|Grosseto, Italy

| style="background:silver;"|2nd

|55.40 m

2002

|Commonwealth Games

|Manchester, United Kingdom

|6th

|51.32 m

2003

|European U23 Championships

|Bydgoszcz, Poland

|11th

|53.90 m

2004

|Olympic Games

|Athens, Greece

|20th (q)

|59.11 m

rowspan=2|2005

|World Championships

|Helsinki, Finland

|12th

|54.44 m

Universiade

|İzmir, Turkey

|4th

|56.25 m

rowspan=2|2006

|European Championships

|Gothenburg, Sweden

|12th

|54.70 m

Commonwealth Games

|Melbourne, Australia

|5th

|57.29 m

2007

|World Championships

|Osaka, Japan

|18th (q)

|57.23 m

2008

|Olympic Games

|Beijing, China

| style="background:#CC9966;" | 3rd

|65.75 m

2009

|World Championships

|Berlin, Germany

|13th (q)

|58.98 m

2011

|World Championships

|Daegu, South Korea

|10th

|58.18 m

rowspan=2|2012

|European Championships

|Helsinki, Finland

|4th

|63.01 m

Olympic Games

|London, United Kingdom

| –

|NM

rowspan=2|2014

|Commonwealth Games

|Glasgow, United Kingdom

|7th

|57.68 m

European Championships

|Zürich, Switzerland

|8th

|58.33 m

2015

|World Championships

|Beijing, China

|26th (q)

|58.28 m

2016

|European Championships

|Amsterdam, Netherlands

|26th (q)

|53.56 m

Personal life

Sayers' father, Pete Sayers, who died in 2005, was a bluegrass musician and the first Englishman to appear at the Grand Ole Opry.{{cite news| last = Turnbull| first = Simon| title = Athletics: Goldie girl with the Midas touch who aims to throw caution to the wind| work = The Independent| publisher = Independent News and Media Limited| date = 19 August 2007| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/athletics-goldie-girl-with-the-midas-touch-who-aims-to-throw-caution-to-the-wind-462149.html | access-date =10 November 2008 }}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

References

External links

{{World Athletics}}
{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sa/goldie-sayers-1.html |title=Goldie Sayers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820203217/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sa/goldie-sayers-1.html |archive-date=2011-08-20 |url-status=dead}}

{{British Athletics Championships women's javelin throw champions}}

Category:1982 births

Category:Living people

Category:Sportspeople from Newmarket, Suffolk

Category:Sportspeople from Suffolk

Category:English female javelin throwers

Category:British female javelin throwers

Category:Olympic female javelin throwers

Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics