Kaila McKnight

{{Infobox sportsperson

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| name = Kaila McKnight

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| nationality = Australian

| residence = Melbourne, Australia

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1986|5|5}}

| birth_place = Stony Creek, Victoria, Australia

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| height = {{convert|172|cm}} (2012)

| weight = {{convert|52|kg}} (2012)

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| country = Australia

| sport = Athletics

| event = 800 metres
1500 metres
One Mile
3000 metres
5000 metres

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Kaila McKnight (born 5 May 1986) is an Australian middle distance runner. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres event.

==Personal life==

McKnight was born on 5 May 1986{{cite web|url=http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=aus/athcode=240151/index.html |title=Athletes – McKnight Kaila Biography |publisher=IAAF |access-date=5 July 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.athletics.com.au/fanzone/athleteprofiles/mcknight_kaila |title=Athletics Australia – McKnight, Kaila |publisher=Athletics Australia |access-date=5 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808221759/http://www.athletics.com.au/fanzone/athleteprofiles/mcknight_kaila |archive-date=8 August 2012 |df=dmy-all }} in Stony Creek near Foster, Victoria and is from Victoria. She attended St Laurence's Catholic Primary School in Victoria before going to Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College for high school. She then went to Deakin University from 2007 to 2009 where she earned a Bachelor of Commerce. {{As of|2017}}, she is a teacher an accountant and married. {{As of|2012}}, she lives in the Victorian town of Leongatha.

McKnight is {{convert|172|cm}} tall and weighs {{convert|52|kg}}.

==Athletics==

McKnight is a middle-distance runner and is coached by Nic Bideau, who became her coach in 2009. She is also coached by Richard Huggins who became her coach in 1998. She is a member of the Knox Athletics Club. Her events are the 800 metres, 1500 metres, One Mile, 3000 metres, and 5000 metres.

McKnight has an athletics scholarship from the Victorian Institute of Sport.{{cite web |url=http://www.vis.org.au/item/kaila-mcknight.html |title=Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) | Kaila McKnight |publisher=Victorian Institute of Sport |date=5 May 1986 |access-date=5 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325000754/http://www.vis.org.au/item/kaila-mcknight.html |archive-date=25 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }} She does most of her training in Melbourne and London. Running for the national team, she wears number 53.

Her personal best time in the 800 metres is 2:04.04 set in Liége, Belgium on 13 July 2010. Her personal best time in the 1500 metres is 4:05.61 set in Shanghai on 19 May 2012. Her personal best time in the one mile is 4:33.33 set in Cork, Ireland on 17 July 2012. Her personal best time in the 3000 metres is 8:58.46 set in Newcastle, Australia on 29 January 2011. Her personal best time in the 5000 metres is 15:33.77 set in Rovereto on 13 September 2011.

At the 2009 Australian National Championships in the 1500 metres, she finished second. At the 2009 World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, she finished second in the 1500 metres event with a time of 4:16:10. At the 2010 Australian National Championships in the 1500 metres, she finished first. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she finished fifth in her heats in the 1500 metres event with a time of 4:15.22. At the IAAF/VTB Bank Continental Cup 2010 on 5 September in the 1500 metres race, she finished ninth with a time of 4:27.40. At the IAAF/VTB Bank Continental Cup 2010 on 4 September in the 3000 metres race, she finished ninth with a time of 9:24.50. She competed at the 2010 International Sotteville Meeting in France in the 1500 metres event, where she set a personal best. At the 2011 Australian National Championships in the 1500 metres, she finished second. At the 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu on 30 August 2011 in the 1500 metres race, she finished tenth with a time of 4:10.83.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10646279 |title=Athletics: Hamblin wins in South Korea – Sport – NZ Herald News |publisher=New Zealand Herald |date= 20 May 2010|access-date=5 July 2012}} At the 39th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbría on 20 March 2011 in the senior race, she finished 69th with a time of 27:59.

Prior to the Australian Olympic qualification period, McKnight spent three months competing overseas. At the 2012 Australian National Championships in the 1500 metres, she finished first and first in the 5000 metres event.{{cite web |author=Damon Francis |url=http://www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au/news/local/sport/other/mcknight-takes-gippstar/2308443.aspx |title=McKnight takes Gippstar |publisher=Latrobe Valley Express |date=29 September 2011 |access-date=5 July 2012 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Clarify|reason = Previous sentence is missing something.|date=February 2016}}

McKnight was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres event, where she made her Olympic debut.{{cite web|url=http://london2012.olympics.com.au/athlete/kaila-mcknight |title=London 2012 – Kaila McKnight |publisher=Australian Olympic Committee |date=5 May 1986 |access-date=5 July 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/sport/13939690/breen-into-aust-olympic-aths-squad/ |title=Breen into Olympic aths squad |publisher=The West Australian |date=13 June 2012 |access-date=5 July 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web |url=http://noticias.lainformacion.com/deporte/campeonato-mundial/steve-hooker-cabeza-de-cartel-de-la-seleccion-australiana-de-atletismo_aNGhFaq6FK5bCWpGQ9Uwt3/ |title=Steve Hooker, cabeza de cartel de la selección australiana de atletismo |publisher=Campeonato mundial |date=13 June 2012 |access-date=5 July 2012 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231940/http://noticias.lainformacion.com/deporte/campeonato-mundial/steve-hooker-cabeza-de-cartel-de-la-seleccion-australiana-de-atletismo_aNGhFaq6FK5bCWpGQ9Uwt3/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|author=Noticias EFE |url=http://www.larioja.com/agencias/20120613/deportes/mas-deportes/steve-hooker-cabeza-cartel-seleccion_201206131139.html |title=Steve Hooker, cabeza de cartel de la selección australiana de atletismo. |publisher=Larioja.com |access-date=5 July 2012}}

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she reached the semi-finals of the 1500 metres but was eliminated there.{{Cite web

| url = http://www.olympic.org/olympic-results/london-2012/athletics/1500m-w

| title = 1500m women results – Athletics – London 2012 Olympics

| website = www.olympic.org

| access-date = 24 February 2016

}}

She competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, reaching the final.{{Cite web

| url = http://g2014results.thecgf.com/athlete/athletics/1029955/kaila_mcknight.html

| title = Glasgow 2014 – Kaila McKnight Profile

| website = g2014results.thecgf.com

| access-date = 24 February 2016

}}