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| Full name | Ashia Kate Nana Korantima Hansen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1971-12-05)5 December 1971 (age 54) Evansville, Indiana, US | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | triple jump | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Birchfield Harriers Essex Ladies AC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ashia Hansen,MBE (born 5 December 1971) is a retired Britishtriple jumper. Fourth in the1996 Olympic final, she broke the world indoor record when winning the1998 European Indoor title, and went on to win gold medals at theWorld Indoor Championships in 1999 and 2003, at theCommonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002, and at the2002 European Championships. Her British records of 15.15 metres (1997 outdoors) and 15.16 metres (1998 indoors), still stand. Injury forced her into retirement.
Although born in the United States, Hansen was adopted when she was 3 months old by aGhanaian father who worked for the United Nations and his English wife.[1] They moved toGhana before settling down in London when she was eight.[2] She was often the only black child at herEast London school and later spoke of the racist sentiment and teasing she experienced. As a fellow school mate in her 6th form years at Goodmayes sixth form centre, an ethnically very diverse school, it was clear she was well liked and there was none of this overt racism as previously described.[3] She discovered a talent for running and was introduced to athletics by a teacher. Although she competed in her first international at age 17, she remained ambivalent about turning professional and only gave up her day job seven years later to fully commit herself. She did also win the 6th form district schools cross country title (over 2.5 miles) held at Hainault Forest (now Country Park) in 1989.[2]
Hansen trained at Ilford AC thenBirchfield Harriers Athletics Club inBirmingham, along with other successful British athletes such asDenise Lewis,Kelly Sotherton,Mark Lewis-Francis andKatharine Merry.[4] She was trained byCommonwealth Games medallistAston Moore.
At the1998 European Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain, Hansen won the gold medal with a world record jump of 15.16m. This record lasted for 6 years. She is also the British record holder for the outdoor event with a jump of 15.15m in 1997.
Hansen won her first major outdoor gold at the1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with a jump of 14.32m.
At the1999 World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, Japan, Hansen won Gold with a world leading jump of 15.02m.
At the2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England Hansen retained her Commonwealth gold with a Games Record jump of 14.86m.
In 2002 Hansen won gold at theEuropean Championships in Munich, Germany with a jump of 15.00m.[5]
Hansen won her second World Indoor title at the2003 Championships in Birmingham, UK with a jump of 15.01m.
Hansen suffered a serious knee injury during the2004 European Cup, requiring extensive surgery. She returned to triple jumping and competed at the British Championships, where she immediately climbed back to the top of the British rankings; however, she decided not to be part of the team for the European Athletics Championships that summer.[citation needed] She was hoping to make the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing but was unable to regain fitness in time and announced her retirement in July 2008.[6][7]
Domestically, Hansen was theBritish triple jump champion four times,[8] winning the BritishAAA Championships title in 1996, 1997, 2001 and2002.[9][10]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Great Britain or England | ||||
| 1994 | European Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 17th (q) | 13.30 m |
| European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 15th (q) | 13.45 m | |
| 1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 21st (q) | 13.61 m |
| 1996 | European Indoor Championships | Stockholm, Sweden | 2nd (q) | 14.32 m[11] |
| Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 4th | 14.49 m | |
| 1997 | World Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 2nd | 14.70 m (iNR) |
| World Championships | Athens, Greece | 5th | 14.49 m | |
| 1998 | European Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 1st | 15.16 m (iWR) |
| Commonwealth Games | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 1st | 14.32 m | |
| 1999 | World Indoor Championships | Maebashi, Japan | 1st | 15.02 m |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 11th | 13.44 m |
| 2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 7th | 14.10 m |
| 2002 | European Indoor Championships | Vienna, Austria | 2nd | 14.71 m |
| Commonwealth Games | Manchester, United Kingdom | 1st | 14.86 m | |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 1st | 15.00 m (w) | |
| 2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 15.01 m |
Hansen was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2003 New Year Honours for services to athletics.[1][12]
Hansen has two younger sisters; one of them is her parents' biological child and the other an adopted cousin.[2]She has two children herself.
European Athletics Championships champions in women'striple jump | |
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Commonwealth Games champions in women'striple jump | |
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