| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Donna Tyberek-MacFarlane |
| Nationality |  Australia |
| Born | (1977-06-18)18 June 1977 (age 48) |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft9+1⁄2 in) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Steeplechase |
| Club | Sandy Bay Harriers Athletics Club |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest | 3000 m steeplechase: 9:18.35 (2008) |
Donna Tyberek-MacFarlane (born 18 June 1977 inMelbourne,Victoria) is an Australian middle distance and steeplechase runner.[1] She set both an Australian record and her personal best time of 9:18.35, by finishing third in the women's3000 metres steeplechase at the 2008 IAAF Golden League Meeting inOslo, Norway.[2][3][4]
Early in her career, MacFarlane won the Australian Under 20 titles over 800m, 1500m and cross country. In 2000, she won the senior bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase at theAustralian Athletics Championships, in the event's inaugural year for women. She struggled to improve her best times in her early twenties, however, and retired from athletics to focus on her career as a journalist. Five years later - married and with two children, MacFarlane resumed running as a personal goal to get fit and enter a fun run inHobart,Tasmania.[5]
Under new coach,Max Cherry, MacFarlane competed for the Sandy Bay Harriers Club[1] - improving her best times over every distance from 400m to 10 km. One year after getting back into running, MacFarlane won a bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Immediately following the Commonwealth Games, she helped Australia to a team bronze medal in theIAAF World Cross Country Championships inFukuoka,Japan.
After a very successful international racing schedule, tragedy struck at the2007 World Athletics Championships inOsaka, Japan. The Chinese competitor accidentally caused MacFarlane's shoe to come off, which ultimately caused her to withdraw from the race due to severe blistering and injury to her foot.
MacFarlane returned to world-class form in 2008, but a few months before the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing, her coach,Max Cherry died at the age of 81.
MacFarlane representedAustralia at the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing, where she competed in the first everwomen's 3000 m steeplechase, along with her teammateVictoria Mitchell. She ran ninth in the third heat against fifteen other athletes, including Kenya'sEunice Jepkorir and Russia'sYekaterina Volkova, who both later won the silver and bronze medals in the final, respectively.[6]
MacFarlane ended her international athletics competition with the2009 World Athletics Championships inBerlin. She maintains her involvement with Australian athletics and is also a creative and corporate writer.
Australians at the2009 World Championships in Athletics | |||
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