|
| Full Name: |
Melanie
Purkiss
|
| Born: |
11th March
1979, (Southampton) |
| Height: |
1.65m |
| Event: |
400m |
| Club: |
Team Southampton, formerly
Team Solent |
| County: |
Todd Bennet |
Personal Bests:
|
400
|
52.99
|
6 Jul 2002
|
Birmingham, GBR
|
|
100
|
11.76 (+0.2)
|
23 Jul 1999
|
Birmingham, GBR
|
|
100
|
11.55w (+2.8)
|
19 Jun 1999
|
Cork, IRE
|
|
200
|
23.80 (-0.3)
|
30 May 1999
|
Bedford, GBR
|
|
200
|
23.64w (+3.8)
|
19 Jun 1999
|
Cork, IRE
|
|
Indoors
|
|
|
|
|
60m
|
7.63
|
6 Feb 1999
|
Birmingham, GBR
|
|
400m
|
53.52
|
25 Jan 2004
|
Birmingham, GBR
|
1996
Purkiss first showed promise
at the 200m, taking the English Schools’ silver medal in 1996.
1997
Melanie took the silver
medals at the AAA U20 Championships in the 100m and 200m.
1999
Melanie went on to run
sprint relays at the 1999 European U23 Championships, helping Britain to second
place, but she was always happier in the 200m.
2000
She added the AAA U23 200m
title in 2000 and was victorious in the U23 international against Spain.
2001
She moved up to 400m, but
the first season in the longer event was hampered by a hip injury.
2002
She made a big breakthrough
in 2002. After running 53.73 indoors she progressed throughout the outdoor
campaign and had already dipped inside 53 seconds before she arrived in
Manchester for the Commonwealth Games. She reached the semi-finals and was close
to her PB, and then ran a 52.03 split to help England to the 4x400m silver
medals.
Commonwealth Games,
Manchester
Another relay outing came at
the European Championships, where she ran a 51.90 leg.
2004
Melanie
Purkiss hopes to recapture the form of 2002 when she turns out for Team Solent
at Hendon on Saturday in the UK Women's League. The 25-year-old from Otterbourne
announced her arrival on the British 400 metres scene in the same competition
two years ago by setting a storming personal best of 52.99 seconds.
Although
Purkiss went on to clinch selection for the Commonwealth Games that year,
striking silver for England in the 4x400 metres relay, she lost momentum last
summer and would dearly like to get it back in time for next month's Olympic
trials in Manchester (July 10/11) where she hopes to bag a relay berth for
Athens.
Purkiss,
doubling up this weekend with another 400m run in Sunday's Loughborough
International, has started the season in promising style.
Having
cruised to a 53.76 victory at last month's Hampshire Championships, she gave
European Under-23 champion Helen Karagounis a run for her money in Monday's
Inter-Counties final at Bedford.
Whereas
Karagounis tied up in the last few strides after a storming first 200m, Purkiss
ran her race in reverse, finding fresh legs down the home straight to finish in
53.72 seconds behind the winner's 53.32 championship best.
Purkiss
reflected: "The time wasn't fantastic
but there are always pluses and minuses to take from races and having spoken to
Todd (coach Todd Bennett), he was happy with how strong I came back in the last
200m, particularly against someone as strong as Helen.
"I've
been running quite a few 200s in training and consistently clocking 23.8 or
23.9, so the speed is there - it's just a matter of putting it all together
before the trials. I've got six weeks and quite a few races in between before I
go away for a week's training in Portugal."
Mel: Only me to blame!
MELANIE
Purkiss admits she has no one but herself to blame for missing the boat to
Athens.
Along
with former Southampton star Iwan Thomas, 25-year-old Purkiss was dealt a major
body blow this week when she was omitted from Britain's final selections for the
4x400 metres relay.
But
unlike British record holder Thomas, right, who took a swipe at the selectors,
Purkiss - a 4x400m silver medallist for England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games -
has taken the decision firmly on the chin.
She
said: "People often get a bit upset
about selections, but I'm not going to blame anyone. It's for me to put myself
in the position to be selected and I have to be honest and say I haven't done
that."
With
five athletes named in the first wave of selections, it was a straight fight
between Purkiss and AAA indoor champion Catherine Murphy for the sixth spot.
Although Purkiss finished a place ahead of Murphy in fifth at the AAA Trials,
the Team Solent sprinter has failed to break the 53-second barrier for the last
two seasons. When it came to the crunch last Saturday, Purkiss clocked a 53.51
victory at Loughborough, but Murphy produced the trump card of a 52.18 run in
Madrid.
Purkiss,
who ranks seventh in the UK this season compared to Murphy's fifth, reflected: "If
selection had been based on the first five at the Trials - plus Donna Fraser - I
would have been in, but it doesn't work like that.
"I
saw Catherine at a meeting last Sunday and I congratulated her.
"There's
nothing personal at all and I would never say that the people selected are not
deserving. We've got a strong relay team and I wish all the girls well."
But she
confessed: "When I watch the Olympics
I'll know I would have been capable of pulling my weight in the relay.
"It's
just a pity that the times I've done have not reflected how fast I'm running in
training.
"I
had a taste of success at the Commonwealth Games two years ago, but I missed out
last year as well.
"Hopefully
it'll make me stronger and I'll bounce back for the World Championships in
Helsinki next year and the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006."
|
2005
|
Norwich
Union Indoor Grand Prix – Report
400m
(53.40 seconds): Leading pair Melanie Purkiss
(Southampton) and Kim Wall (Basildon AC) both beat the qualifying time in
a race closely watched by selectors of the Norwich Union Great Britain and
Northern Ireland 4x400m squad for the European Indoor Championships.
Purkiss led through 200m in 24.58 with Wall, at 21 the ‘baby’ of the
field, on her shoulder. Try as she might, Wall could not repeat her feat
of five days earlier when she swept past Catherine Murphy (Woodford Green
with Essex Ladies) in the final strides of the Norwich Union European
Indoor Trials and AAA Championships at the EIS Sheffield. But both Purkiss,
who finished in 52.98 seconds, and Wall, half a stride behind in 53.21,
were rewarded with personal bests. This means that GB now has three
athletes inside the European Indoors qualifying standard. European Under
23 Champion Helen Karagounis (Birchfield Harriers) took third in 53.93.
“It
was a last minute decision to run here. I wanted to see what shape I am
in, so it’s fantastic that I came and ran a PB. If the selectors would
like to pick me for Madrid, I would be delighted. I love running for GB. I
didn’t run the Trials last week so I would not like to take the place of
someone who did. If they need me for the relay, I would be more than happy
to go.”
|
2006
| South
of England Championships
Pre-race: The 400m
could feature GB relay team members Lesley Owusu (Windsor
Slough Eton & Hounslow) and Melanie Purkiss (Team
Southampton). The 400m Hurdles also looks a good race with England's
Commonwealth Games representative Sian Scott (Team
Southampton) up against clubmate Emma Duck and Hannah
Stares (Belgrave).
|
| Norwich
Union World Trials & AAA Championships
- 400m
Pre-race -
The Women’s 400m will be contested by World Championship 4x400m Bronze
medallist Nicola Sanders (WSEH), building towards her first Commonwealth
Games in March. The challenge will come from Melanie Purkiss (Team
Southampton) who recently broke the UK 300m indoor best at Manchester. The
26-year-old clocked 37.12 to finally erase the record of 37.46 that had
stood to Sharon Colyear since 14 March 1981 … when little Mel was only
two!
Second in Manchester,
Helen Karagounis (Birchfield) clocked 37.62 to go fourth on the UK alltime
list behind Lee McConnell, who achieved 37.57 at the NIA a year ago.
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