Lynsey Sharp Explained

Lynsey Sharp
Weight:59kg (130lb) (2014)
Country:
Birth Date:11 July 1990
Birth Place:Dumfries, Scotland, United Kingdom
Sport:Athletics
Event:800 metres
Coach:David Harmer
Education:Edinburgh Napier University[1]
Show-Medals:no

Lynsey Sharp (born 11 July 1990) is a former Scottish track and field athlete who competed in the 800 metres. She is the 2012 European champion and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.[2] She won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Her personal best is 1:57.69, the seventh[3] fastest time over 800m by a British woman, set in the final of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[4]

Personal life

Lynsey Sharp was born in Dumfries, Scotland and lived her early life in nearby Lochmaben. She is the daughter of former Scottish athletes Cameron Sharp and Carol Sharp (née Lightfoot). Her father won a 1982 European silver medal in the 200 m and competed at the 1980 Olympic Games, while her mother has an 800 m personal best of 2:02.91 and competed at the 1982 Commonwealth Games.

Sharp went to The Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh. She graduated with a 2:1 in Law (LLB) from Edinburgh Napier University in 2012 a few weeks before competing in the London Olympics. She has said she was inspired to study law after her father fought a medical negligence case following permanent injuries he sustained in a road crash.[5] She is also a fan of Scottish Premiership side Rangers.[6]

Sharp is married to fellow Scottish athlete Andrew Butchart. The couple have a son, Max, born in October 2021.[7]

Career

As a teenager, Sharp competed at the IAAF World Youth Championships and IAAF World Junior Championships. In 2011, she improved her 800 m personal best by almost four seconds. In June, she took her best down from 2:04.44, to 2:02.48 in Watford then 2:01:98 in Prague. Then in July, at the European U23 Championships in Ostrava, she further improved to 2:00.65, to win a bronze medal. This would be upgraded to silver due to the 2013 disqualification of Elena Arzhakova.

In June 2012, at the UK Championships & Olympic trials, Sharp was a surprise winner of the 800 metres. Olympic qualifying rules stated that a country could send three athletes in an event provided they had achieved the A standard, or one athlete who had the B standard. Sharp only had the B standard, while four other British women had the A standard: an injured Jenny Meadows and three athletes who Sharp had defeated at the Olympic trials. A week after the trials, Sharp won a silver medal at the European Championships in Helsinki with a personal best of 2:00.52, a time that was still outside the A standard.[8] (This would be upgraded to gold the following year, after abnormalities were found in Elena Arzhakova's biological passport.[9] Arzhakova was stripped of both her 2012 European title and 2011 European U23 title.) The selectors decided to select Sharp and leave behind athletes including Meadows and Marilyn Okoro. At the Olympics, she ran 2:01.41 in her heat to qualify for the semi-finals, where she finished seventh in 2:01.78, failing to reach the final.

At the end of the 2013 season, Sharp had surgery on her ankle as it had become infected. This resulted in her competing throughout the 2014 season against medical advice with an open wound in her foot.[10] In July 2014, Sharp ran under two minutes in the 800 m for the first time, running 1:59.67 at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne. In August, at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she ran 2:01.34 to win a silver medal in the 800 m.[11] The race was won by 2013 World champion Eunice Sum. The night before the Commonwealth 800 m final, Sharp suffered stomach cramps and sickness and had to be placed on a drip at the Poly-clinic at the Athletes' Village until 5:30 am on the morning of the race. Sharp's performance was hailed as "a miracle run".[12] [13] Two weeks after the Commonwealth Games, she won a silver medal at the European Championships in Zürich in a time of 1:58.80, breaking Susan Scott's Scottish record of 1:59.02 and moving to eighth on the UK all-time list. The race was won by Maryna Arzamasava of Belarus in 1:58.15.

2016 Olympics

Sharp finished sixth in the 800 metres final at the 2016 Rio Olympics, improving her own Scottish record to 1:57.69. Following the race, Sharp broke into tears and said that "it was difficult to compete against Caster Semenya and other hyperandrogenic athletes after the rule to suppress testosterone levels was overturned."[14] Sharp was criticised in the media when she appeared to ignore Semenya post-race while embracing fellow runners Joanna Jóźwik and Melissa Bishop.[15] Sharp has since clarified her comments, in a now-deleted Twitter post:

Sharp had previously claimed that "there were obvious athletes with heightened testosterone" and that there were "two separate races being run."[16]

2017–present

Sharp ran 1:58.80 in the 800 metres at the Athletissima Lausanne Diamond League race in July 2017, then later in the month ran a season's best of 1:58.01 at the Herculis Monaco Diamond League. Three weeks later at the 2017 World Championships in London, she reached the 800 m final, finishing eighth in 1:58.98.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Sharp was eliminated in the heats of the 800 m, running 2:01.63.

After competing throughout 2019, Sharp went on hiatus due to surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells followed by pregnancy, but stated that she intends to return to competition.[17]

Despite making a comeback in January 2023,[18] in December 2023, Sharp announced her retirement from international athletics.[19]

Achievements

Representing
2007World Youth ChampionshipsOstrava, Czech Republic15th (sf)800 m2:11.36
2008World Junior ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland18th (sf)800m2:09.00
2011European U23 ChampionshipsOstrava, Czech Republicbgcolor=silver2nd800 m2:00.65
2012European ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finlandbgcolor=gold1st800 m2:00.52
2012Olympic GamesLondon, England, United Kingdom20th (sf)800 m2:01.78
2014European ChampionshipsZürich, Switzerland2nd800 m1:58.80
2015World ChampionshipsBeijing, China14th (sf)800 m 1:59.33
2016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil6th 800 m 1:57.69
2017World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom8th800 m1:58.98
2019World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar31st (h)800 m2:03.57
Representing
2008Commonwealth Youth GamesPune, India3rd800 m2:06.77
2014Commonwealth GamesGlasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom2nd800 m2:01.34
2018Commonwealth GamesGold Coast, Australia14th (h)800 m2:01.33
6th3:29.18
Representing
2014Continental CupMarrakech, Morocco5th800 m2:00.80
1stWomen's team440.5 pts
(#) Indicates overall position in qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf)

Circuit wins and titles

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2018 CWG bio. 29 April 2018.
  2. Web site: Hart. Simon. Team GB athletics squad for London 2012 Olympics announced. https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120704222429/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9372881/Team-GB-athletics-squad-for-London-2012-Olympics-selectors-embroiled-in-controversy.html. dead. 4 July 2012. Telegraph. 3 July 2012. 3 July 2012.
  3. Web site: Ranking List.
  4. Web site: 2016 800m Olympic Final. Rio 2016 - Women's 800m final. Rio 2016. 21 August 2016. 1 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160901202936/https://www.rio2016.com/en/athletics-womens-800m-final. dead.
  5. Web site: Lynsey Sharp. Edinburgh Napier University – Study – Be different. Edinburgh Napier University. 10 August 2014.
  6. Web site: Rangers are in my blood, says Lynsey Sharp. The Scotsman. The Scotsman. 15 January 2015.
  7. Web site: Susan . Egelstaff . Returning to the top remains a huge challenge for mums . The National . 24 January 2024.
  8. Web site: Olympics: Lynsey Sharp grabs silver, but London looks out of reach. The Scotsman. 2 July 2012. 30 June 2012.
  9. News: Great Britain's Lynsey Sharp made European champion after 800m silver is upgraded. 4 June 2013. The Telegraph. 4 June 2013.
  10. Web site: Lynsey Sharp prepares for surprise captaincy after 'coming of age' season . The Telegraph . 16 May 2015 . 21 August 2016 . Ben . Bloom.
  11. Web site: Commonwealth Games: Brave Lynsey Sharp wins silver.
  12. Web site: English. Paul. McGivern. Mark. Glasgow 2014: Lynsey Sharp shrugs off hospital visit before 800m final at Hampden to win silver with a 'miracle' run. Daily Record. 2 August 2014. Trinity Mirror. 10 August 2014.
  13. News: Glasgow 2014: Lynsey Sharp overcomes illness for 800m silver. BBC Sport. 10 August 2014.
  14. Web site: Tearful Lynsey Sharp claims it is 'difficult' to compete with Caster Semenya after rule change. Jack Rathborn. 21 August 2016. Daily Mirror. 24 August 2016.
  15. Web site: Hart. Simon. Team GB athletics squad for London 2012 Olympics announced. https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120704222429/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9372881/Team-GB-athletics-squad-for-London-2012-Olympics-selectors-embroiled-in-controversy.html. dead. 4 July 2012. Telegraph. 3 July 2012. 3 July 2012.
  16. Web site: Lynsey Sharp Defends Caster Semenya Comments After Coming Sixth In Women's 800m Final In Rio . Kathryn Snowdon . . 21 August 2016 . 24 August 2016.
  17. Web site: Lynsey Sharp: Pregnant athlete not done with competing . . 18 May 2021 . 24 June 2021.
  18. Web site: Lynsey Sharp makes comeback from injury and child birth . BBC Sport . 22 December 2023.
  19. Web site: Lynsey Sharp: Former European 800m champion retires from athletics . BBC Sport . 22 December 2023.
  20. News: Lynsey is Kurri Athlete of the Year... Again. Scottish Athletics. 28 October 2012. 14 November 2012.
  21. Web site: Athlete of the Year 2014 short-lists . Scottish Athletics . 3 November 2014 . 7 November 2014 .
  22. Web site: Noticeboard: Lynsey; Rio; Women in Sport; BUCS; CYG . Scottish Athletics . 1 May 2015 . 7 November 2023 .
  23. Web site: Sharp, Lynsey Biography. . 26 August 2012.
  24. Web site: Athlete Profile. Thepowerof10.info . 26 August 2012.
  25. Web site: Results: Brussels Diamond League - Memorial Van Damme 2018. Watch Athletics . 22 August 2022 . 31 August 2018.