| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | British Sri Lankan | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1960-06-21)21 June 1960 (age 65) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 158 cm (5 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 45 kg (99 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | hurdles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Thurrock Harriers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Selvagowry Retchakan-Müller, (néeVardakumar, formerlyHodge, born 21 June 1960) is anEnglish formertrack and field athlete who competed in the400 metres hurdles. She representedGreat Britain at the1992 Olympic Games inBarcelona, and won silver medals at the1992 IAAF World Cup and the1998 Commonwealth Games. She won fiveAAA Championships titles and twoUK Championship titles. She was ranked in the world's top ten at 400 metres hurdles in both 1991 and 1992.
Retchakan was born inPaddington, London, England, toSri Lankan parents. She was a member of Thurrock Harriers. In 1982, representing Sri Lanka, she finished sixth in the 100 metres hurdles at theAsian Games. She emerged as one of the UK's leading 400 m hurdlers in the late 1980s. In 1989, she finished third at theAAA Championships in 57.17,[1] and went on to be the UK's long standing second ranked 400 m hurdler toSally Gunnell. In 1990, after finishing second at theUK Championships in 58.23, she won the first of five AAAs National titles, winning in 57.14, to earn selection for theEuropean Championships, where she was eliminated in the heats in 57.03.[2]
In 1991, Retchakan retained her AAAs title in 56.67.[3] At theWorld Championships inTokyo. she ran below 55 seconds for the first time, with 54.95 in the heats, improving to 54.88 in the semi-finals, narrowly missing the final. The time ranked her tenth fastest in the world for 1991. In 1992, Retchakan won the UK title in 55.42 and retained the AAAs title in 55.04, to earn Olympic selection. At theBarcelona Olympics, she ran her lifetime best of 54.63 in the semi-finals, to again narrowly miss the final. She was unfortunate to miss out, as she was the seventh fastest athlete overall from the two semis. A month after the Olympics, she was selected to represent Europe at theIAAF World Cup inHavana. She ran 55.66, to finish second behindSandra Farmer-Patrick and ahead ofMargarita Ponomaryova. She was the ninth fastest in the world for 1992.
Retchakan retained the UK 400 m hurdles title in 1993, running 56.62 and reached the semi-finals of theWorld Championships inStuttgart, running 55.96. In 1994, she won her fourth AAAs title in 57.08[4] and went on to reach the 400 m hurdles finals at both theEuropean Championships and theCommonwealth Games. At the Europeans inHelsinki, she finished eighth in 56.05. Then inVictoria, at the Commonwealth Games, she finished fifth in the final, in 56.69. She won her fifth (and final) AAAs 400 metres hurdles title in 1995, in 57.18.[5] However, she declined selection for the World Championships. At the 1996 British Olympic Trials, she was sixth, failing to earn Olympic selection.
In 1998, at the age of 38, Retchakan had one of her best career results, when she won a silver medal at theCommonwealth Games inKuala Lumpur. She finished behindAndrea Blackett in 55.25, her fastest time for six years. Having ranked second in the UK for five straight years to Sally Gunnell (1990–94) then third in 1995, she at last achieved the UK number one ranking.
As of 2021, Retchakan's best of 54.63, ranks her seventh on the UK all-time list.[6] She also holds the UK masters records in the W35 and W40 categories. Her 55.25 in 1998, was the second fastest time ever by a veteran woman, age 35+, afterMarina Stepanova. In 2000, she broke the world age 40+ record with 58.3.[7]
Retchakan is married to Paul Joachim Müller. She was formerly married to the athletics statistician Ian Hodge.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Sri Lanka | |||||
| 1982 | Asian Games | Delhi, India | 6th | 100 m hurdles | 14.?? |
Representing Great Britain | |||||
| 1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 17th (h) | 400 m hurdles | 57.03 |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | semi-final | 400 m hurdles | 54.88 |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | semi-final | 400 m hurdles | 54.63 |
| World Cup | Havana, Cuba | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 55.66 | |
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | semi-final | 400 m hurdles | 55.96 |
| 1994 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 8th | 400 m hurdles | 56.05 |
Representing England | |||||
| 1994 | Commonwealth Games | Victoria, Canada | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 56.69 |
| 1998 | Commonwealth Games | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 55.25 |
| National Championships | |||||
| 1989 | AAA Championships | Birmingham, UK | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 57.17 |
| 1990 | UK Championships | Cardiff, UK | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 58.23 |
| AAA Championships | Birmingham, UK | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 57.14 | |
| 1991 | AAA Championships | Birmingham, UK | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 55.67 |
| 1992 | UK Championships | Sheffield, UK | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 55.42 |
| AAA Championships | Birmingham, UK | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 55.04 | |
| 1993 | UK Championships | London, UK | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 56.62 |
| 1994 | AAA Championships | Sheffield, UK | 1st | 400 m hurles | 57.08 |
| 1995 | AAA Championships | Birmingham, UK | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 57.18 |
| 1996 | AAA Championships | Birmingham, UK | 6th | 400 mhurdles | 57.?? |
| 1998 | AAA Championships | Birmingham, UK | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 56.57 |
