Kerryn McCann

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Kerryn McCann

| image = Kerryn McCann.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = McCann at the 2006 Commonwealth Games

| nationality = Australian

| birth_name = Kerryn Hindmarsh

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1967|5|2}}

| birth_place = Bulli, New South Wales

| residence =

| death_date = {{death date and age|2008|12|7|1967|5|2|df=y}}

| death_place = Coledale, New South Wales

| height =

| weight =

| sport = Running

| event =

| club =

| collegeteam =

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{AUS}}}}

}}

Kerryn McCann ({{nee}} Hindmarsh; 2 May 1967 – 7 December 2008) was an Australian athlete. She was best known for winning the marathon at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Personal life

McCann was born Kerryn Hindmarsh in Bulli, New South Wales, in 1967.{{cite web|title=Kerryn McCann |work=Athletics Australia Fanzone |url=http://www.athletics.com.au/fanzone/athleteprofiles/kerryn_mccann |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928072233/http://www.athletics.com.au/fanzone/athleteprofiles/kerryn_mccann |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 September 2007 |accessdate=7 December 2008 }}

In 1991 she married Greg McCann, a surfer who represented Australia twice in international competition, and was Australian champion in 1983. Their first son Benton, was born in 1997; daughter Josie was born in 2003.

In August 2007 it was announced that McCann, who was expecting her third child at the time, was being treated for breast cancer.{{cite news | title=Marathon champ's cancer battle| date=24 August 2007 | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/marathon-champs-cancer-battle/2007/08/24/1187462510524.html}} She had surgery to remove the lump and was later induced, giving birth to son Cooper on 5 September 2007 (6 weeks premature).{{cite news | title=Boy for McCann, chemo next| date=7 September 2007 | work= The Sydney Morning Herald| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/boy-for-mccann-chemo-next/2007/09/06/1188783414574.html}} She then began a 20-week course of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Cooper spent several weeks in a neonatal ward, undergoing steroid treatment, to aid the growth of his lungs. "It was really hard seeing him with the tubes and drip and monitor - this tiny baby," McCann said, two months after his birth.{{cite news | title=Kerryn McCann battles with motherhood and cancer| date=30 October 2007 | publisher=The Daily Telegraph | url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/my-tears-for-brave-kerryn/story-e6freuzr-1111114751139}}[http://aussiebubblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/ Aussie Bub Blog, October 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609102555/http://aussiebubblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/ |date=9 June 2011 }}

However, by May 2008 the cancer had spread to her liver.{{cite news | title=McCann faces new setback in cancer battle| date=23 September 2008 | work=The Sydney Morning Herald| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/mccann-faces-new-setback-in-cancer-battle/2008/09/22/1221935545842.html}} Retrieved 12 December 2008 McCann died at her home on 7 December 2008, surrounded by her family.{{cite news | title=Marathon runner McCann dies| date=7 December 2008 | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/08/2440215.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208054005/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/08/2440215.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=8 December 2008 | accessdate=8 December 2008}}

Athletics career

McCann had an early interest in athletics, winning the New South Wales primary school cross country championship in 1979. However, McCann gave up competitive athletics until taking it up again near the end of high school, running her first marathon at the age of seventeen. At age 19 she ran the marathon at the Australian Championships, placing 3rd.

McCann won her first Australian championship events in 1988, placing first in the one mile race, and first in the marathon, having previously come third in the marathon in 1986. McCann has subsequently won Australian championships in cross country (1992 and 1999), 10,000 metres (in 2002) and again in the marathon in 1993.

At the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, McCann placed tenth in the marathon, and at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, she finished 28th.

McCann took a break from professional competition for the birth of her first son, returning in 1999. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, McCann finished eleventh in the marathon. On running into the packed Sydney Stadium the crowd erupted. Earlier in the year she placed fifth in the London Marathon, in a time of 2:25.59, her personal best and an Australian record. She achieved a seventh place in the New York Marathon in 2002. McCann's best result in international competition came later in 2002 at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, United Kingdom, where she won gold ahead of fellow Australians, Krishna Stanton and Jackie Gallagher.{{cite news | first=John | last=Haughey | title=Marathon clean sweep for Aussies | date=28 July 2002 | publisher=BBC | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/commonwealthgames2002/hi/athletics/newsid_2156000/2156982.stm}}

McCann again took a break from competition for the birth of her daughter, before commencing training in late 2003 and returning to competition in 2004, competing in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, finishing 31st in the marathon.

In 2005, she won the 14 kilometre, City to Surf in a time of 46 minutes 27 seconds.[http://city2surf.com.au/default.asp?PageID=17813 History of the City 2 Surf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606123148/http://www.city2surf.com.au/default.asp?PageID=17813 |date=6 June 2009 }}

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, at the age of thirty-eight, McCann defended her Commonwealth title, winning gold in the marathon in a time of 2:30:54, just two seconds ahead of Kenyan, Hellen Cherono Koskei. The lead changed six times in the final two kilometres of the race, before McCann pulled clear in the final two hundred metres around the athletics track inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground. McCann described the race as "probably the greatest victory I've ever had, or the greatest race I've ever run."{{cite news | first=Dan | last=Harrison | title=McCann wins marathon | date=19 March 2006 | work=The Age| url=http://theage.com.au/news/athletics/mccann-wins-marathon/2006/03/19/1142703195969.html}} In October 2015, Sport Australia Hall of Fame awarded her performance as one of its Great Sporting Moments.{{cite web|title=Diamonds are forever as Anne Sargeant becomes a Legend and it's Day's night as Jason snares 'The Don'|url=https://sahof.org.au/diamonds-are-forever-as-anne-sargeant-becomes-a-legend-and-its-days-night-as-jason-snares-the-don/|website=Sport Australia Hall of Fame|date=22 October 2015 |accessdate=27 September 2020}}

Achievements

All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

{{AchievementTable}}
colspan="5"\|Representing {{AUS}}
1995 \|World Championships \|Gothenburg, Sweden \|15th \|2:36:29
1996 \|Olympic Games \|Atlanta, United States \|28th \|2:36:41
2000 \|Olympic Games \|Sydney, Australia \|11th \|2:28:37
2001 \|Chicago Marathon \|Chicago, United States \| 3rd \|2:26:04
2002 \|Commonwealth Games \|Manchester, United Kingdom \|1st \|2:30:05
2004 \|Olympic Games \|Athens, Greece \|31st \|2:41:41
2006 \|Commonwealth Games \|Melbourne, Australia \|1st \|2:30:54

colspan="5"|Representing {{AUS}}

1995

|15th

1996

|Atlanta, United States

|28th

2000

|11th

2001

|Chicago, United States

| 3rd

|2:26:04

2002

|Commonwealth Games

|Manchester, United Kingdom

|1st

|2:30:05

2004

|31st

2006

|Melbourne, Australia

|1st

|2:30:54

Personal bests

5000 metres: 15:08.69 (2000 - Australian record)
10000 metres 31.55.94 (1999)
Half marathon: 1:07.48 (2000 - Australian record)
Marathon: 2:25.59 (2000)

References

External links

{{AOC|kerryn-mccann|archive=20160320071703|old_id=kerryn-mccann-hindmarsh}}
{{Olympics.com profile}}
{{Olympedia}}
[http://athletics.possumbility.com/athletes/athlete772.htm Kerryn McCann (Hindmarsh)] at Australian Athletics Historical Results
{{World Athletics}}
{{cite news | first=Frank | last=Litsky | title=From Bulli to the Big Apple | date=1 November 2002 | work=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/01/sports/othersports/01MARA.html}}
{{cite news | title=Kerryn McCann: Marathon Mission | date=26 July 2004 | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | url=http://abc.net.au/olympics/2004/profiles/kerryn_mccann.htm | archive-date=21 November 2005 | access-date=19 March 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051121174825/http://abc.net.au/olympics/2004/profiles/kerryn_mccann.htm | url-status=dead }}
{{cite web | title=Kerryn McCann dies after cancer battle | work=Illawarra Mercury | date=7 December 2008 | url=http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/kerryn-mccann-dies-after-cancer-battle/1380174.aspx | accessdate=8 December 2008}}