| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Born | (1953-04-05)5 April 1953 (age 72) Wolverhampton, England |
| Height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | 400 m |
| Club | WBAC |
Medal record | |
Verona Marolin Elder (néeVerona Bernard)MBE (born 5 April 1953 inWolverhampton,Staffordshire) is a female British, Commonwealth and European medal winning English400 metres runner[1] and is now the manager of the Britishathletics team for people withlearning disability.
Bernard finished third behindJannette Roscoe in the 400 metres event at the1971 WAAA Championships[2] and then became theBritish 400 metres champion after winning the BritishWAAA Championships title at the1972 WAAA Championships.[3]
Shortly afterwards, Bernard made her debut on the international stage at the1972 Summer Olympics inMunich taking fifth place in the 4 × 400 m relay.[4] The following year in 1973, she won the 400 m title at the European Indoor Championships inRotterdam, ahead of the East GermansWaltraud Dietsch andRenate Siebach.
At the1974 British Commonwealth Games, Bernard finished second in the 400 m and won the 4 × 400 m relay and won a gold medal in thewomen's 4 × 400 metres relay event withJannette Roscoe,Ruth Kennedy andSue Pettett.[5] Later that year Bernard married Hugh Elder and competed under her married name thereafter.[6]
Elder retained her European indoor title at the European Indoor Championships in 1975 inKatowice and regained her WAAA title at the1976 WAAA Championships and1977 WAAA Championships.[7]
She won a silver medal in the 400 metres, at the1978 Commonwealth Games inEdmonton, Alberta, Canada.[8] She was a Finalist in the 400 m and 800 m at the European Championships in 1978. At the start of 1979 season she won gold at the indoor European Indoor Championships inVienna, Austria, ahead ofJarmila Kratochvílová.
She also representedEngland in the 400 metres hurdles event, at the1982 Commonwealth Games inBrisbane, Queensland, Australia.[9][10]
She was a member of the Wolverhampton & Bilston club, Staffordshire. She went on to teach sport to people with learning disability at Thurrock College,Essex. She led Great Britain to six gold, six silver and three bronze medals at the 7thInternational Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS) World Indoor Championships for athletes with learning disabilities as the team manager. With GB finishing second in the medal table behindPortugal atManchester Sport City. She was Chef de Mission to the 2011 INAS Global Games in Italy on 24 September – 4 October 2011.[11][12]
Commonwealth Games champions in women's4 × 400 metres relay | |
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