| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1960-11-21)21 November 1960 (age 65) Epping, Essex, England | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Haringey Athletics Club | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wendy Jeal (néeMcDonnell, born 21 November 1960) is a female English formertrack and field athlete who competed in the100 metres hurdles. She represented Great Britain at the1988 Olympic Games. In 1986, representing England, she won aCommonwealth Games silver medal.
Jeal was born inEpping, Essex, England and was a member of the Harlow Athletics Club and then theHaringey Athletics Club. As Wendy McDonnell, she won the AAAs National under 15 75 metres hurdles title in 1975 and the AAAs National under 17 80 metres hurdles title in 1977.[1]
As a seventeen-year-old, she won her first senior national championships medal in 1978, with third at the AAAs indoor 60 m hurdles. In 1982, she was second at theUK National Championships in the 100 metres hurdles. In 1985, now competing as Wendy Jeal and after several years on the edge of major championships selection, she competed in the 60 m hurdles at theIAAF World Indoor Games in Paris. She ran 8.34 secs to reach the semi-finals. Also in 1985, Jeal finished second behindGlynis Nunn in the 100 metres hurdles event at the1985 WAAA Championships.[2]
Jeal had the best year of her career in 1986. She finished third at both the UK National Championships andAAA Championships, behindSally Gunnell andLesley-Ann Skeete, and ahead of 1984 Olympic silver medallistShirley Strong. She earned selection for both theCommonwealth Games and theEuropean Championships. The Commonwealth Games inEdinburgh proved to be the highlight of her career, as she won the silver medal forEngland inEdinburgh, Scotland, in a time of 13.41, behind Sally Gunnell and ahead ofGlynis Nunn andJulie Rocheleau (later Baumann).[3][4][5] At the European Championships inStuttgart, she ran her lifetime best of 13.16 in the heats, to reach the semi-finals.[6]
In 1987, Jeal finished third behind Lesley-Ann Skeete andKim Hagger at the UK Championships and third at the AAAs Championships behind Sally Gunnell and Skeete, earning selection for theWorld Championships inRome, where she was eliminated in the heats, running 13.44. At the 1988 AAAs Championships, incorporating the Olympic trials, Jeal once again finished third behind Sally Gunnell and Lesley-Ann Skeete, earning Olympic selection. At theSeoul Olympics, she reached the quarter-finals, running 13.32.[7]
Throughout her career, Jeal finished second or third at senior national championships fourteen times, without winning. Her last top three result, was finishing third at the 1990 UK Championships.[8]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Great Britain / England | |||||
| 1985 | World Indoor Games | Paris, France | 7th (sf) | 60 m hurdles | 8.37 (8.34) |
| 1986 | Commonwealth Games | Edinburgh, Scotland | 2nd | 100 m hurdles | 13.41 (13.33) |
| European Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 13th (sf) | 100 m hurdles | 13.29 (13.16) | |
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 18th (h) | 100 m hurdles | 13.41 |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 17th (qf) | 100 m hurdles | 13.32 |
| (#) Indicates overall position in heats (h) quarterfinals (qf) or semifinals (sf). Times in parentheses indicate superior time achieved in heats. | |||||
