Paula Dunn facts for kids
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| Nationality | English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 December 1964 Bradford, West Yorkshire |
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| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Paula Dunn (born 3 December 1964) is a famous English former sprinter. She ran in races like the 100 metres, 200 metres, and the 4 x 100 metres relay.
Paula represented Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. She won five medals at the Commonwealth Games. These included a silver medal in the 100 metres in 1986 and a bronze in 1994.
During the 1990s, she was known as Paula Thomas. This was her married name at the time. Her fastest times were 11.15 seconds in the 100 metres and 22.69 seconds in the 200 metres. These were the quickest times for a British female sprinter in the 1990s.
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Becoming a Sprinter
Paula Dunn was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. She was a member of the Trafford Athletics Club. In 1985, she finished sixth in the 100 metres at the AAA Championships.
In 1986, Paula improved very quickly. She lowered her best 100m time from 11.67 to 11.25 seconds. She won both the AAAs and UK National 100 metres titles that year.
Commonwealth Games Success
At the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Paula won a silver medal in the 100 metres. She was just one-hundredth of a second behind the winner.
She then joined Heather Oakes, Kathy Cook, and Joan Baptiste. Together, they won a gold medal in the 4x100 metres relay race. Later that year, she came seventh in the 100 metres final at the European Championships.
Olympic and European Races
In 1987, Paula competed at the World Championships in Rome. She reached the semi-finals in the 100 metres.
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she made it to the semi-finals of the 200 metres. She also ran in the 100 metres and the 4x100 metres relay.
In 1989, she finished fourth in the 60 metres final at the European Indoor Championships. She then came second in both the 100m and 200m at the European Cup. She won her fourth straight AAAs 100 metres title in 1989. From August 1986 to January 1990, Paula was the fastest British woman in the 100 metres.
Later Career Highlights
In January 1990, Paula won a silver medal in the relay at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland. She ran with Stephanie Douglas, Jennifer Stoute, and Simmone Jacobs.
That summer, she competed as Paula Thomas. She won a bronze medal in the relay at the European Championships in Split. She ran with Douglas, Bev Kinch, and Jacobs. She also competed at the World Championships in 1991 and 1993. Paula missed all of 1992 because she was pregnant.
Peak Performance
Paula reached her best in 1994 at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria. She won a bronze medal in the 100 metres. She ran her fastest time ever, 11.15 seconds, in the semi-finals.
In the 200 metres, she just missed a medal. She ran another personal best time of 22.69 seconds. These times were the fastest for a British woman sprinter in the 1990s. She also won another bronze medal in the sprint relay.
In 1995, she competed at her fourth World Championships in Gothenburg. She reached the semi-finals in the 200 metres. Paula was chosen for the 1996 Olympic Games. However, she had to withdraw due to illness.
After Running
Paula Dunn started working for UK Athletics in 2001. This is the national governing body for athletics in the United Kingdom. In 2009, she became the Paralympic performance manager.
After the London 2012 Games, she was promoted. She became the Paralympic head coach. This made her the first female head coach appointed by UK Athletics.
National Champion Titles
Paula Dunn won many national titles during her career:
- 6 times AAAs National Champion – 100 metres (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995) and 200 metres (1989)
- 5 times UK National Champion – 100 metres (1986, 1987, 1988) and 200 metres (1987, 1988)
- 2 times AAAs Indoor Champion – 60 metres (1987, 1988)
Awards and Recognition
Paula Dunn was given an award called a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). This happened in the 2019 New Year Honours list. She received it for her great contributions to Athletics.
See also
In Spanish: Paula Thomas para niños
