Venissa Head
{{Short description|Welsh track and field athlete}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Venissa Head
| image =
| caption =
| nationality = British (Welsh)
| sport = Athletics
| event = shot put / discus throw
| club = Cardiff AAC
Bristol and West AC
| birth_date = September 1956
| birth_place = Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height =
| weight =
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}}
Venissa Anne Head (born 1 September 1956) is a former international track and field athlete from Wales who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Biography
Head went to secondary school at Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School in Wales, and it was whilst there that she won her first of 15 Welsh shot put titles, at the age of 17.{{Cite web |url=http://www.welshathletics.org/about-us/our-history/hall-of-fame/venissa-head.aspx |title=Venissa Head – About us – Welsh Athletics – Athletau Cymru |website=welshathletics.org |access-date=2016-06-02}} She won 25 Welsh titles in total, with her ten successive discus titles coming between 1979 and 1988.
She was a member of the Cardiff Athletic Club, where she still holds the club discus record, as well as both the indoor and outdoor shot put records.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cardiffaac.org/clubrecords/clubrecordswomen.htm |title=Welcome to Cardiff AAC :: Club Records – Women |website=cardiffaac.org |access-date=2016-06-02}} She was also a member of Bristol and West Athletic Club, and still holds the club discus and shot put records.
She took part in the inaugural IAAF World Championships in 1983, competing in both the shot put and the discus throw.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cardiffaac.org/news/goodluckrhys.htm |title=Welcome to Cardiff AAC :: Brave Rhys goes out |website=cardiffaac.org |access-date=2016-06-02}} In the shot put, she finished 5th in Group A in qualifying with a put of 18.41 metres.{{Cite web |url=http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/1st-iaaf-world-championships-in-athletics-3/results/women/shot-put/qualification/series |title=IAAF: Shot Put Series Result – 1st IAAF World Championships in Athletics |website=iaaf.org |access-date=2016-06-02}} She putted a shorter 18.05 in the final to finish 10th overall.{{Cite web |url=http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/1st-iaaf-world-championships-in-athletics-3/results/women/shot-put/final/series |title=IAAF: Shot Put Series Result – 1st IAAF World Championships in Athletics |website=iaaf.org |access-date=2016-06-02}} This result is the best ever by a British athlete.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bm/wc.htm |title=British Medallists in IAAF World Championships in Athletics |website=gbrathletics.com |access-date=2016-06-02}} No British athletes have ever made the final since.{{Cite web |url=http://www.athleticsweekly.com/iaaf-world-championships/world-championships-womens-shot-put-31219/ |title=World Championships: Women's shot put – Athletics Weekly |date=2015-08-15 |website=Athletics Weekly |language=en-GB |access-date=2016-06-02}} In the discus she finished 8th in Qualifying Group B with a throw of 53.78, and so did not progress to the final.{{Cite web |url=http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/1st-iaaf-world-championships-in-athletics-3/results/women/discus-throw/qualification/series |title=IAAF: Discus Throw Series Result – 1st IAAF World Championships in Athletics |website=iaaf.org |access-date=2016-06-02}}
She was part of the British Olympic team for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where she again competed in the discus throw and shot put. In the discus, she threw 55.24 metres in qualifying, which was 24 cm further than the mark needed to qualify for the final, and was the shortest mark to automatically qualify.{{Cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1984/ATH/womens-discus-throw-qualifying-round.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171925/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1984/ATH/womens-discus-throw-qualifying-round.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-17 |title=Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Women's Discus Throw Qualifying Round |website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com |access-date=2016-06-02}} She finished sixth in Group A and eighth overall in qualifying. In the final, she finished seventh, with a best throw of 58.18 metres, achieved in the third round.{{Cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1984/ATH/womens-discus-throw-final-round.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171926/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1984/ATH/womens-discus-throw-final-round.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-17 |title=Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Women's Discus Throw Final Round |website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com |access-date=2016-06-02}} In the shot put, she finished sixth with a throw of 17.90 metres, in a competition that went straight to a final as there were only thirteen entrants, caused by the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott.{{Cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1984/ATH/womens-shot-put.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417175402/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1984/ATH/womens-shot-put.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-17 |title=Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Women's Shot Put |website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com |access-date=2016-06-02}}
Head also represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games, winning the silver medal in the discus throw at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
She is also a musician in Pontypool Brass Band, playing the tuba.{{Cite web |url=http://www.4barsrest.com/news/detail.asp?id=14868#.V09Hk4-cHIU |title=Real Olympian set to perform in Swansea |website=4barsrest.com |date=17 March 2012 |access-date=2016-06-02}}
She was inducted into the Welsh Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cardiffaac.org/news/welshawardsforcardiff.htm |title=Welcome to Cardiff AAC :: Welsh Awards for Cardiff |website=cardiffaac.org |access-date=2016-06-02}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.welshathletics.org/about-us/our-history/hall-of-fame.aspx |title=Hall of Fame – About us – Welsh Athletics – Athletau Cymru |website=welshathletics.org |access-date=2016-06-02}}
She is the British indoor shot put record holder, with her personal best of 19.06 metres set on 7 April 1984.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thepowerof10.info/rankings/rankinglist.aspx?event=SP4K&agegroup=ALL&sex=W&alltime=y&indooronly=y |title=Ranking List |website=thepowerof10.info |access-date=2016-06-02}} This put also places her second on the overall all-time list.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thepowerof10.info/rankings/rankinglist.aspx?event=SP4K&agegroup=ALL&sex=W&alltime=y |title=Ranking List |website=thepowerof10.info |access-date=2016-06-02}} She was second on the British all-time list for discus until 27 February 2016, when a throw by Jade Lally relegated her to third.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thepowerof10.info/rankings/rankinglist.aspx?event=DT1K&agegroup=ALL&sex=W&alltime=y |title=Ranking List |website=thepowerof10.info |access-date=2016-06-02}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{World Athletics}}
- {{Power of 10 name|40935}}
- {{SR/Olympics profile|he/venissa-head-1}}
- {{Olympics.com profile|venissa-head}}
{{Footer UK NC Shot Put Women}}
{{Footer UK NC Discus Women}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Venissa}}
Category:Sportspeople from Merthyr Tydfil
Category:Welsh female shot putters
Category:Welsh female discus throwers
Category:British female discus throwers
Category:British female shot putters
Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Wales
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain