Goldie Sayers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Goldie Sayers

Sayers setting a new UK javelin record at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix, 2012
Personal information
Born	(1982-07-16) 16 July 1982 (age 43) Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	11 st (70 kg)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Javelin
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games Bronze 2008 Beijing Javelin European Cup Winter Throwing Gold 2008 Split Javelin Silver 2007 Yalta Javelin Silver 2012 Bar Javelin European Junior Championships Silver 2001 Grosseto Javelin

Katherine Dinah "Goldie" Sayers (born 16 July 1982) is a British athlete who used to compete in the javelin throw. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

About Goldie Sayers

Early Life and Sports

Goldie Sayers was born in Newmarket, Suffolk, England. She went to Fairstead House School and The King's School, Ely. Goldie was a talented athlete from a young age. She played hockey, netball, and tennis for her county. She even became a national champion in table tennis when she was under 11 years old.

Rising to Fame in Javelin

Goldie Sayers in 2009

Goldie first became well-known in 2001. She set new national junior records and won national titles in javelin. That same year, she was the captain of Great Britain's women's under-20 team. The next year, in 2002, she represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. She finished in sixth place there.

Olympic and European Competitions

Goldie represented Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. It was her first Olympics, but she did not reach the final. She placed twelfth at the 2005 World Championships. She also finished twelfth at the 2006 European Championships. However, she did achieve fifth place at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Setting New Records

In early 2007, Goldie started the season very well. She set two new UK records. On 20 May 2007, she threw the javelin 65.05 meters. This made her the first British woman to throw over 65 meters since javelins were changed in 1999. She set this record while competing for her university, Loughborough. She confirmed this great achievement on 3 June 2007. At the Norwich Union Glasgow Grand Prix, she won against top international athletes. She threw 63.59 meters even in rainy weather.

On 15 March 2008, Goldie won the European Cup of Winter Throwing title. She competed in Split, Croatia, with a throw of 63.65 meters.

Olympic Medal Achievement

Goldie Sayers originally finished fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. She set a new British record with a throw of 65.75 meters. However, in 2016, the Russian athlete who finished third, Mariya Abakumova, was found to have used substances that were not allowed in sports. This meant that Goldie Sayers was moved up to the bronze medal position. She finally received her Olympic bronze medal on 20 July 2019. This happened at the London Anniversary Games, 11 years after the original event.

She improved her British record even further to 66.17 meters in 2012. This happened at the London Grand Prix Diamond League meeting in London.

On 4 July 2012, Goldie Sayers had the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch. She carried it through Bourne in Lincolnshire.

Challenges and Later Career

On 7 August 2012, Goldie competed in the women's javelin at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Sadly, she had an injury to her right arm and could not feel her throwing hand properly. She tried three times but could not throw the distance needed to qualify. She stepped over the line, which meant she was out of the competition without a recorded mark.

In her home country, Goldie won an amazing eleven British javelin throw titles. Ten of these wins were in a row, from 2003 to 2012.

After her injury, Goldie had surgery on her elbow. A ligament was moved from her right wrist to her left arm. She lost her funding from UK Athletics at the end of 2014. However, a kind person named Barrie Wells agreed to help fund her training. In return, Goldie helped another athlete, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, improve her javelin throwing skills.

Personal Life

Goldie Sayers' father, Pete Sayers, passed away in 2005. He was a bluegrass musician. He was also the first Englishman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, a famous music show.