Elizabeth Bird

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bird (born 4 October 1994)[1] is a British athlete who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the 2022 European Athletics Championships.

For the British academic, see Liz Bird.

Elizabeth Bird
Personal information
Nickname(s)Lizzie
NationalityBritish
Born (1994-10-04) 4 October 1994
Manila, Philippines
Sport
CountryGreat Britain & N.I.
England
SportAthletics
Event(s)3000 metres steeplechase
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place2022 Munich3000m st.
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place2022 Birmingham3000m st.

Bird is the current British record-holder in the 3000 m steeplechase with a time of 9:07.87. She is a two-time British national champion.

Early career

Elizabeth Bird began running in St Albans, and her first club was Hertfordshire Phoenix Athletic Club.[2] She studied at the Princeton University graduating in Public and International Affairs in 2017. She was an NCAA Honorable Mention All-America honoree in the steeplechase in 2015 and was a four-time NCAA Regional qualifier. Bird was a two-time Ivy League champion in the steeplechase and part of the 4x800 m team that won a conference title in 2017 as well as being the Ivy League Cross Country Champion in 2015.[3]

Career

Bird competed in the women's 3000 m steeplechase event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and did not advance from the heats clocking a personal best of 9:30.13.[4]

Having qualified for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in her specialist event, she reached the final after finishing fifth in her heat.[5] In the final Bird broke the national record with a time of 9:19.68, placing ninth.[1]

In July 2022, she did not qualify for the final at the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in a time of 9:23.17. At about three weeks later, Bird won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022 in a personal best of 9:17.79.[1] She set new lifetime best and a British record of 9:07.87 at the Monaco Diamond League five days later.[6] Also in August, she earned a bronze at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, clocking 9:23.18.[1]

Personal life

Bird studied also for a master's degree in International Studies at the University of San Francisco between 2017 and 2018 but deferred a place at law school in Boulder, Colorado in order to focus on the 2020 Summer Olympics. She has been involved in advocacy and support for human rights organisation Detention Action.[2]

References
  1. "Elizabeth BIRD – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. "Athletics - BIRD Elizabeth - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Olympics.com. IOC. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  3. "Tokyo Olympics: Lizzie Bird '17 Advances to Steeplechase Final". Princeton University Athletics.
  4. "3000 Metres Steeplechase Women - Round 1" (PDF). IAAF (Doha 2019). Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  5. "Lizzie Bird qualifies for Olympic Steeplechase final - runbritain". www.runbritain.com.
  6. Barden, Katy (8 November 2022). "How they train: Lizzie Bird". AW. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
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