Melissa Courtney-Bryant

Melissa Courtney-Bryant (born 30 August 1993)[3] is a British middle- and long-distance runner. She won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and bronze for the 3000 metres at the 2019 and 2023 European Indoor Championships.

Melissa Courtney-Bryant
Courtney-Bryant in 2018
Personal information
Born (1993-08-30) 30 August 1993
Poole, England
Height1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)[1]
Weight53 kg (117 lb)[2]
Sport
CountryGreat Britain & N.I.
Wales
SportAthletics
Event(s)Middle-, long-distance running
ClubPoole AC
Coached byRob Denmark
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Indoor Championships
Bronze medal – third place2019 Glasgow3000 m
Bronze medal – third place2023 Istanbul3000 m
European Cross Country Championships
Gold medal – first place2017 ŠamorínMixed relay
Representing  Wales
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2018 Gold Coast1500 m

Courtney-Bryant is a two-time British indoor champion.

Athletics career

Born in Poole, Dorset, she initially focused on swimming, but switched to running. She joined Poole Athletic Club and worked under coach Mark Pauley from the age of twelve, as well as her father Mark as more runners joined the club. She credits her partner and fellow athlete, Ashley Bryant, which encouraging her to up her performance after a period of stagnation. After graduating from Brunel University London with a degree in sports psychology, she moved to train at Loughborough in 2017 to work with Rob Denmark.[4][2][5]

Courtney made big improvements to her 800 m and 1500 m bests in 2013 and won the latter event at the BUCS Championships indoor and out that year. In the 2014 indoor season, she won the Welsh indoor title and came third at the British Indoor Championships. During the 2015 season her 800 m and 1500 m bests were brought down to 2:05.48 and 4:09.74 minutes and she made her international debut at the 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships, placing 10th in the 1500 m. Though she was seventh nationally at the 2016 British Athletics Championships, she ran a best of 4:07.55 minutes and gained selection for the 2016 European Athletics Championships, competing in the first round only.[6] She teamed up with Cameron Boyek, Sarah McDonald, and Tom Marshall to take the gold medal in the inaugural mixed relay event at the 2017 European Cross Country Championships.[7]

After winning the 1500 m British Universities title, she represented Great Britain at the 2017 Universiade and placed fifth in the final.[6] That winter, she travelled to train in Iten in Kenya.[8] Courtney was chosen to represent Wales at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and she won 1500 m bronze medal in a personal best time of 4:03.44 minutes, beaten only by Caster Semenya and Beatrice Chepkoech.[9]

She won the 3000 m event at the Karlsruhe meeting of the 2019 IAAF World Indoor Tour with a time of 8:43.36. In March that year, she took bronze over the same distance at the European Indoor Championships, setting her personal best in the process.

On 24 December 2022, Courtney-Bryant set unofficial parkrun world record of 15 minutes 31 seconds in Poole, slicing six seconds off Samantha Harrison's female best mark.[10]

Statistics

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTime
 Representing  Great Britain /  Wales
2015 European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia 10th 1500 m 4:17.49
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 18th (h) 1500 m 4:18.74
2017 Universiade Taipei, Taiwan 5th 1500 m 4:21.14
European Cross Country Championships Šamorín, Slovakia 1st Mixed relay 18:24
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 3rd 1500 m 4:03.44
9th 5000 m 15:46.60
European Championships Berlin, Germany 5th 5000 m 15:04.75
2019 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd 3000 m i 8:38.22
2022 World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 31st (h) 1500 m 4:09.07
European Championships Munich, Germany 24th (h) 1500 m 4:09.11
2023 European Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 3rd 3000 m i 8:41.19
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 12th 1500 m 4:03.31

Personal bests
Road
Other

National titles

References
  1. Melissa Courtney. European Athletics. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  2. Melissa Courtney. GC2018. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  3. Melissa Courtney. IAAF. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  4. Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 9 February 2017. Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  5. Payne, Ned (2016-07-08). Athletics: Student Melissa Courtney sets heart on European Championships final... and deadline extension. Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  6. Melissa Courtney. Power of 10. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  7. Senior Mixed relay. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2017-12-15.
  8. The simple life in Kenya| Melissa Courtney. EightLane (2018-01-12). Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  9. Commonwealth Games: Caster Semenya wins 1500m gold, Melissa Courtney third. BBC Sport (2018-04-10). Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  10. Henderson, Jason (24 December 2022). "Melissa Courtney-Bryant runs parkrun 'world record'". AW. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
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