Jo Pavey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jo Pavey
MBE

Pavey at the start of the 5000 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Born	(1973-09-20) 20 September 1973 (age 51) Honiton, Devon, England
Height	1.63 m
Weight	50 kg
Sport
Sport	Women's Athletics
Club	Exeter Harriers
Medal record Representing  Great Britain World Championships Bronze 2007 Osaka 10,000 m European Championships Gold 2014 Zürich 10,000 m Silver 2012 Helsinki 10,000 m European Cross Country Championships Silver 2004 Heringsdorf Team race Bronze 2004 Heringsdorf Long race Representing  England Commonwealth Games Silver 2006 Melbourne 5000 m Bronze 2014 Glasgow 5000 m IAAF World Cup Bronze 2002 Madrid 5000 m Representing  Europe IAAF Continental Cup Bronze 2014 Marrakech 5000 m

Joanne Marie Pavey MBE (born 20 September 1973) is a British retired long-distance runner. She is famous for winning medals at World, European, and Commonwealth championships. Jo Pavey won the gold medal in the 10,000-meter race at the 2014 European Athletics Championships. She was the oldest female European champion at that time.

Pavey also earned a bronze medal in the 10,000-meter race at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. She is a five-time Olympian, meaning she competed in five different Olympic Games from 2000 to 2016. She is the only British runner to have competed in five Olympic track events.

Jo Pavey's Running Journey

Starting Out in Athletics

Jo Davis was born in Honiton, Devon, England. She joined the Exeter Harriers Athletics Club in 1987. In 1988, she began training with coach Tony White.

In July 1988, she won the 1500-meter title at the English Schools' Athletics Championships. She set a new British record for athletes under 15. Jo also won national titles for under-15 and under-17 age groups. She first represented Great Britain in 1989 when she was just fifteen.

Becoming a Senior Athlete

Pavey made her senior international debut in 1997. This was after she finished her degree in physiotherapy. Her husband, Gavin Pavey, became her coach that winter. She quickly improved in the 1500-meter race.

She won the British national title in 1997. At the 1997 World Championships in Athens, she reached the semi-finals.

Olympic Debut and Challenges

In 2000, Jo Pavey started running the 5000-meter race. This was after two years away due to hip and knee injuries. In her very first 5000-meter race, she qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She finished 12th in the Olympic final, setting a new personal best time.

In 2001, she aimed to break the British record. A shin injury caused her to miss the start of the season. She later won the British 5000-meter title. This earned her a spot at the World Championships in Edmonton.

In 2002, Pavey had a great start to the season. She ran the fastest 3000-meter time in the world that year. She faced some health issues before the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Despite this, she competed and finished fifth in the 5000-meter race. Later that year, she set new personal bests in both the 3000-meter and 5000-meter races.

Focusing on Different Distances

In 2003, Pavey tried cross country races for the first time. She finished 40th as part of the Great Britain team. She also won a 3000-meter race in Lille. Her fast 1500-meter times led her to focus on this shorter distance.

She finished 10th in the 1500-meter final at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. Pavey also competed in the IAAF World Athletics Final in Monaco. She finished fourth in the 1500-meter and third in the 3000-meter races.

In 2004, Pavey set a UK national record for 3000 meters indoors. She broke this record again in 2007. In 2007, she also set a European indoor record for two miles.

Major Medals and Olympic Appearances

In 2004, Pavey won a bronze medal at the European Cross Country Championships. She also finished fifth in the 5000-meter race at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. From 2005 to 2006, she was Europe's fastest 5000-meter runner.

She won the National Championships at 5000 meters six times. She also won the 10,000-meter national title four times. Pavey has won two European Cup titles. She also earned bronze medals representing Europe in the 2002 IAAF World Cup and the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup.

Road Running and Later Career

In 2006, Pavey started competing in road races. She won the Great South Run in 2006 and 2012. She also won the Great Manchester Run in 2007 and 2008.

Pavey won a bronze medal in the 10,000-meter race at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. She competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She finished twelfth in the 10,000-meter race.

In 2009, Jo Pavey announced she was pregnant. She and her husband, Gavin, welcomed their son, Jacob, in September 2009. She returned to competition in 2010. She ran her first marathon in London, achieving an Olympic qualifying time.

Pavey qualified for her fourth Olympic Games in 2012 at age 38. She is the only female athlete to have competed in the 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m at both the Olympic Games and World Championships.

At the 2012 European Championships in Helsinki, Pavey won a silver medal in the 10,000m. She finished seventh in both the 5000m and 10,000m at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Her 10,000m time was the second fastest ever by a British athlete. It was also the second fastest time in history by an over-35-year-old.

Jo Pavey at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

In 2014, Pavey won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games. Her time set a new world record for women over 40. Just ten days later, she won her first major championship. She took gold in the 10,000 meters at the European Championships. She was almost 41 years old, becoming the oldest female to win a gold medal there.

Pavey finished her 2014 season with a bronze medal at the Continental Cup. She was also named the female captain of the European Team. In 2014, she was honored with the Freedom of the City of Exeter.

In 2016, Pavey aimed to compete in her fifth Olympic Games. Despite being ill, she ran in the British Championship and Olympic Trials. She later set an over-40 world record in the 10,000m at the European Championships in Amsterdam. This performance earned her a spot on the British Olympic team.

At the Rio Olympic Games, Pavey finished 15th at age 42. She became the first British runner to compete in five Olympic Games. In 2017, she was awarded a bronze medal from the 2007 World Championships. This happened after another athlete was disqualified.

International Competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  England
2002	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	5th	5000 m	15:19.91
2006	Commonwealth Games	Melbourne, Australia	2nd	5000 m	14:59.08
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, United Kingdom	3rd	5000 m	15:08.96
Representing  Great Britain
1997	World Championships	Athens, Greece	semi-final	1500 m	4:11.22
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	12th	5000 m	14:58.27
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	11th	5000 m	15:28.41
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	5th	5000 m	15:18.70
	World Cup	Madrid, Spain	3rd	5000 m	15:20.10
2003	World Athletics Final	Monaco	3rd	1500 m	4:01.79
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	10th	1500 m	4:03.03
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	heats	1500 m	4:12.50
			5th	5000 m	14:57.87
	European Cross Country Championships	Heringsdorf, Germany	3rd	5.6 km
2006	European Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	4th	5000 m	15:01.41
	European Cup	Málaga, Spain	1st	3000m	8:52.54
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	3rd	10,000 m	32:03.81
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	12th	10,000 m	31:12.30
2012	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	2nd	10,000 m	31:49.03
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	7th	5000 m	15:12.72
			7th	10,000 m	30:53.20
2014	European Championships	Zurich, Switzerland	7th	5,000 m	15:38.41
			1st	10,000 m	32:22.39
	Continental Cup	Marrakech, Morocco	3rd	5000 m	15:58.67
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	5th	10,000 m	31:34.61
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	15th	10,000 m	31:33.44

Other Race Wins

• 2012 Great South Run – first place (10 miles)
• 2008 Great North Run – third place (half marathon)
• 2008 Great Manchester Run – first place (10k)
• 2007 Great Manchester Run – first place (10k)
• 2006 Great South Run – first place (10 miles)
• 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final – third place (3000 m)
• 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final – fourth place (1500m)

Jo Pavey's Life Outside Running

Jo Pavey (born Davis) started running at the King's School, Ottery St Mary. Her teachers encouraged her to join an athletics club. A road near her old school training fields is now called 'Pavey Run' in her honor.

She studied physiotherapy at Bristol University and graduated in 1995. She married Gavin Pavey in 1995. They met at Exeter Harriers in 1988. Gavin became her coach in 1996/97 and again in 2001. He has coached her to many major championship finals.

Jo and Gavin have two children: a son born in 2009 and a daughter born in 2013. In July 2016, Pavey released her autobiography, Jo Pavey: This Mum Runs. A fun fact about Jo Pavey is that she always runs wearing long white compression socks!

See also

In Spanish: Jo Pavey para niños