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Michelle Jenneke
Michelle Jenneke, 2015 IAAF Cropped.jpg
Jenneke at the 2015 IAAF World Championships
Personal information
Nickname(s) Shelly
Born (1993-06-23) 23 June 1993 (age 32)
Kenthurst, New South Wales, Australia
Height 172 cm
Sport
Country Australia Australia
Sport Athletics
Event(s) 100 metres hurdles
Sprint medley relay
Club Sydney University Athletics Club
Team Athletics Australia
Achievements and titles
World finals
  • 2012 World Junior Championships:
    100 m hurdles – 5th place
National finals
  • 2016 Australian Championships:
    100 m hurdles – 1st place
Olympic finals
Personal best(s) 100 m hurdles 12.65 (Hengelo, Netherlands 2024)
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Summer Universiade
Bronze 2015 Gwangju 100 m hurdles
Youth Olympic Games
Silver 2010 Singapore 100 m hurdles
Oceania Youth Championships
Gold 2010 Sydney 100 m hurdles
Gold 2010 Sydney 4×100 m relay
Bronze 2010 Sydney 100 m

Michelle "Shelly" Jenneke (born June 23, 1993) is an Australian athlete and model. She is best known for running in hurdle races. She won a silver medal in the 100 meter hurdles at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. She also won the 100 meter hurdles at the 2016 Australian Athletics Championships. This win helped her qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Michelle became famous in 2012 when a video of her pre-race warm-up dance became very popular online.

About Michelle Jenneke

Michelle Jenneke was born in Kenthurst, New South Wales, Australia. She went to The Hills Grammar School.

She studied mechatronics at Sydney University. Mechatronics is a cool field that combines mechanical and electric engineering. Michelle enjoys many hobbies like Australian rules football, soccer, quad biking, climbing trees, and handball.

Her Athletic Journey

Michelle started training as a hurdler at age 10 with coach Mick Zisti. She trained at the Cherrybrook Athletics Club. In 2008, she competed in the Pacific School Games in Canberra.

In March 2010, Michelle won the 100 meter hurdles at the Australian Junior Championships. She also helped set a new national record in the women's sprint medley relay. Later that year, she was part of Australia's team at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. She ran in the 100 meter hurdles and the women's medley relay. In the hurdles, she finished second and set her personal best time. Her medal was the first one Australia won in athletics at those Games.

In 2011, Michelle competed in New Zealand. She also won first place in the under-20 hurdles at the Australian Junior Championships. In April 2011, she finished third in the 100 meter hurdles at the Australian Athletics Championships. She was behind world champion Sally Pearson.

On July 15, 2012, Michelle finished fifth in the 100 meter hurdles at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics. After this race, a video of her warm-up dance became very popular on YouTube. This video made her famous around the world. It was even shown on the American TV show The Tonight Show.

Michelle was chosen to be on Australia's team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She finished fifth in the final. She was the youngest competitor there. She is known as the second-fastest 100 meter hurdle woman in Australian history.

Michelle's fastest time in the 100 meter hurdles is 12.66 seconds. She set this record at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon. She qualified for the 2015 World Championships in Beijing and reached the semi-finals.

In March 2016, Michelle competed at the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon. She finished 10th. The next month, she won the Australian National Championship 100 meter hurdles final. This win qualified her for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. At the Olympics, she finished sixth in her heat and did not move on.

At the Australian University Games in Perth, Michelle tried other events. She ran in the 100 meters sprint and reached the final. She also competed in the long jump, finishing second. She won her main event, the 110 meters hurdles.

In August 2017, Michelle competed in her second World Championships. She reached the semi-finals. Her warm-up dance was even featured in the BBC's highlights of the games.

In April 2018, she represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games again. She finished fourth.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Michelle had a tough race. She fell over a hurdle during her 100m heat.

Media Spotlight

In July 2012, videos of Michelle dancing before her 100 meter hurdles race at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Barcelona became super popular online. One video got over 19 million views in just one week!

Michelle also appeared in a funny short video called Forever Alone Meets Michelle Jenneke. She played herself in the video, which was about her famous dance. This video also got over 10 million views on YouTube.

In 2013, Michelle was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue magazine.

In 2014, Michelle was part of a mobile app about stretching techniques called Stretch with Michelle Jenneke. She also raced a Nissan GT-R car at the Top Gear Sydney Festival.

Athletic Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Australia
2010 Oceania Youth Championships Sydney, Australia 3rd 100 m 12.15 s (+0.5 m/s)
1st 100 m hurdles 14.12 s (−1.4 m/s)
1st 4 × 100 m relay 45.75 s
Youth Olympic Games Singapore 2nd 100 m hurdles 13.46
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 5th 100 m hurdles 13.54
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 5th 100 m hurdles 13.36
2015 Universiade Gwangju, South Korea 3rd 100 m hurdles 12.94
World Championships Beijing, China 18th (sf) 100 m hurdles 13.01
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 10th (h) 60 m hurdles 8.10
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 37th (h) 100 m hurdles 13.26
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 21st (sf) 100 m hurdles 13.25
Universiade Taipei, Taiwan 8th 100 m hurdles 14.82
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 22nd (sf) 60 m hurdles 8.22
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 4th 100 m hurdles 13.07
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 11th (sf) 100 m hurdles 12.66
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 14th (sf) 100 m hurdles 12.80
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 16th (sf) 60 m hurdles 8.05
Olympic Games Paris, France 21st (rep) 100 m hurdles 13.86

Other Important Achievements

Michelle Jenneke
Michelle Jenneke at the 2012 World Junior Championships
  • 1st place (100 m hurdles) – 2016 Australian National Championships (Olympic qualifying time, 12.93)
  • 1st place (100 m hurdles) – 2010 Australian Junior Championships
  • 1st place (4 × 100 m relay) – 2010 Australian Junior Championships (national record)
  • 4th place ("Swedish medley" relay) – 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, Singapore
  • 3rd place (100 m hurdles) – 2011 Australian Championships
  • 2nd place (100 m hurdles) – 2015 Australian Championships (12.82)
  • Semifinal – 6th place (100 m hurdles) - 2015 World Championships Beijing (13.01) (fastest reaction time, 0.122, in all semi-finals)
  • Semifinal – 10th place (60 m hurdles) - 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Portland, USA (8.10, personal best)
  • Heats – 6th in heat (100 m hurdles) - 2016 Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (13.26)
  • Semifinal - 7th in semi (100 m hurdles) - 2017 World Championships, London (13.250)

See also

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