Perri Shakes-Drayton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Perri Shakes-Drayton

Perri Shakes-Drayton in 2010
Personal information
Born	(1988-12-21) 21 December 1988 (age 36) London, England
Height	1.72 m
Weight	66 kg
Sport
Country	Great Britain
Sport	Women's athletics
Club	Victoria Park Harriers and Tower Hamlets
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 m hurdles: 53.67s (2013) 400 m: 50.50s (2013) 60 m: 7.44s (2009)
Medal record Representing  Great Britain World Championships Silver 2017 London 4 × 400 m Bronze 2011 Daegu 4 × 400 m World Indoor Championships Gold 2012 Istanbul 4 × 400 m Bronze 2010 Doha 4 × 400 m Diamond League Silver 2012 400 m hurdles European Championships Bronze 2010 Barcelona 400 m hurdles Silver 2010 Barcelona 4 × 400 m European Indoor Championships Gold 2013 Gothenburg 400 m Gold 2013 Gothenburg 4 × 400 m European U23 Championships Gold 2009 Kaunas 400 m hurdles European Junior Championships Silver 2007 Hengelo 400 m hurdles

Perri Shakes-Drayton (born December 21, 1988) is a British athlete who used to compete in track and field. She first focused on the 400 metres hurdles. After a knee injury in 2013, she switched to running the 400 metres.

Perri won a gold medal at the 2013 European Indoor Championships in the 400 metres. She also won gold at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in the 4 x 400 metres relay. She has won silver and bronze medals in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the World Championships.

Outside of sports, Perri appeared on the TV show Dancing on Ice in 2018. In 2023, she was also on Richard Osman's House of Games.

About Perri Shakes-Drayton

Perri was born in east London. Her parents are from Grenada. She grew up in Bow, London, and still lives there.

She went to Holy Family R.C. Primary School and Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School. Perri studied sports science at Brunel University. She graduated with a good degree.

In June 2019, she married high-jump athlete Mike Olayemi Edwards in London. Perri and Mike had their first child on August 26, 2020.

Perri's Athletics Career

Shakes-Drayton (lane 2) at the 2010 Josef Odložil Memorial in Prague. She finished second in this race.

Perri Shakes-Drayton became well-known at the English Schools Championships. There, she set a new UK junior record in the 400 metres hurdles.

Her first big international competition was the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics. She finished eighth and set a new personal best time of 57.52 seconds. In 2007, she won a silver medal at the 2007 European Athletics Junior Championships. Her time of 56.46 seconds was a national junior record.

Olympic Trials and Early Success

In 2008, Perri won the 400 metres hurdles at the Olympic Games GB trials. However, another athlete, Tasha Danvers, was chosen for the team instead. Danvers went on to win a bronze medal at the Olympics. Even so, many people thought Perri would win a medal at the 2012 Olympics.

At the 2009 British Championships, Perri finished second in the 400 metres. She ran behind the world champion, Christine Ohuruogu, and set a new personal best. She also won a gold medal at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships. She ran the 400 metres hurdles in 55.26 seconds, which was another personal best.

Perri was excited to compete at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin. She said she liked when people talked about her. She felt it meant she was doing well and needed to live up to the excitement.

World Championships and European Medals

At the 2009 World Championships, Perri reached the semi-finals. She finished seventh in her race and did not make it to the final. In June 2010, she won the 400 metres hurdles at the Memorial Primo Nebiolo. She set a personal best of 54.91 seconds.

At the 2010 European Athletics Championships, Perri and Eilidh Child were the only British athletes in their event. Perri finished third in the final. She won a bronze medal with a new personal best time of 54.18 seconds.

Perri Shakes-Drayton after winning a 400 m match in 2013.

In 2012, Perri competed at the London Grand Prix. This was the last big race before the 2012 London Olympic Games. She set another personal best in the 400 metres hurdles, running it in 53.77 seconds. This time made her the second-fastest British athlete ever in that event.

However, at the 2012 Olympics, she did not reach the 400 metres hurdles final. She finished third in her semi-final race. She was also part of the British 4 x 400 metres relay team. They finished fifth in their final.

European Indoor Champion

At the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Gothenburg, Perri had great success. She won a gold medal in the Women's 400 metres final. She set a personal best time of 50.85 seconds. Another British runner, Eilidh Child, came in second.

Perri was also part of the Women's 4 x 400 metres team that won gold at the same championships. Her teammates were Eilidh Child, Shana Cox, and Christine Ohuruogu.

In 2020, Perri Shakes-Drayton announced that she was retiring from her athletics career.

Personal Best Times

Perri Shakes-Drayton achieved impressive times in her career. Here are some of her best performances:

Images for kids

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  Perri Shakes-Drayton after winning a 400 m match in 2013.

See also

In Spanish: Perri Shakes-Drayton para niños