Yvette Wray

Yvette Julie Wray (née Luker, born 18 October 1958) is a female former English pentathlete, hurdler and sprinter. Born in Scraptoft, Leicestershire, she competed for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Moscow 1980. She also represented England at the Commonwealth Games in 1978 and 1982, winning two bronze medals.

Yvette Wray
née Luker
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
Born (1958-10-18) 18 October 1958
Scraptoft, Leicestershire
Sport
SportAthletics
ClubShrewsbury & District AC
Medal record
Athletics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1978 EdmontonPentathlon
Bronze medal – third place 1982 Brisbane400 m hurdles
Representing  Great Britain
Universiade
Silver medal – second place 1979 Mexico City4 x 100 m
Silver medal – second place 1981 Bucharest4 x 100 m

Career

At the age of 19, Wray competed internationally for the first time at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and achieved immediate success, earning the bronze medal in the Pentathlon with a score of 4211 points.[1] She competed later in the year at the European Athletics Championships, finishing 15th in the Pentathlon, although later disqualifications to other competitors due to doping violations promoted her to 13th place.[2]

In 1979 Wray participated in the Summer Universiade and helped the British 4 × 100 m relay team achieve a silver medal, narrowly behind the Soviet Union team. Her performances internationally and domestically earned her a place in the Pentathlon at the 1980 Summer Olympics, where she finished 16th with 4159 points, one place behind fellow British pentathlete Sue Longden. [3]

Wray competed in the 50 metre hurdles at the 1981 European Athletics Indoor Championships, but failed to progress beyond the semifinals. Later in the year however, Wray performed strongly at the Universiade, helping the British team to 4 × 100 m relay silver once again, just 0.2 s behind the United States team.[4]

At the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Wray earned her second Commonwealth bronze medal, this time in the 400 m hurdles.[5] She also contributed to the English 4 × 400 m relay team, but a mistake in her baton changeover with Gladys Taylor dropped England out of medal contention and they could only finish 4th.[6] Later in the year Wray participated in the European Athletics Championships 400 m hurdles, where she was eliminated in the heats.

During her final year of international competition, Wray represented England, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland competing in the 1986 Commonwealth Games 400 m hurdles, reaching the final and finishing in 5th place.[7][8][9] Her last international event was at the 1986 European Athletics Championships in the 400 m hurdles, but she failed to progress beyond the heats.

Domestic achievements

Throughout her career Wray achieved a lot of national success, particularly at the AAA Championships where she won three 400 m hurdles titles and one 2nd-place finish between 1982 and 1986. She also claimed a 1st and two 2nd-place finishes in the pentathlon between 1977 and 1980, and a 2nd and 3rd-place finish in the 100 m hurdles in 1980 and 1978 respectively.[10] At the Indoor AAA Championships Wray was dominant at the 60 m hurdles, taking the title from 1980 to 1982, as well as finishing second in 1979 and 1983. She also achieved a 2nd-place finish at the 400 metre sprint in 1984.[11]

At the UK Athletics Championships, Wray won the 400 m hurdle title in 1986, to add the 3rd-place finish she had achieved in 1982. She also came 2nd in the 1979 100 m hurdles.[12]

Personal bests

International Results
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Great Britain
1978 European Championships Prague, Czech Republic 13th Pentathlon 4103 pts
1979 Universiade Mexico City, Mexico 2nd 4 × 100 m relay 43.26
1980 Olympic Games Moscow, Russia 16th Pentathlon 4159 pts
1981 European Indoor Championships Grenoble, France Semifinal 50 m hurdles 7.03
Universiade Bucharest, Romania 2nd 4 × 100 m 43.86
1982 European Championships Athens, Greece Heats 400 m hurdles 57.81
1986 European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany Heats 400 m hurdles 57.89
Representing  England
1978 Commonwealth Games Edmonton, Canada 3rd Pentathlon 4211 pts
1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia 3rd 400 m hurdles 57.17
4th 4 × 400 m relay 3:35.35
1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, United Kingdom 5th 400 m hurdles 57.59

References
  1. Groom, Graham (17 October 2017). The Complete Book of the Commonwealth Games. p. 129. ISBN 9780244940317.
  2. Holt, John B (1979). "International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) - Main Decisions of the IAAF Council, Meeting in Dakar (SEN), April 26th, 27th and 28th 1979" (PDF). IAAF. pp. 353–354.
  3. "Women Pentathlon Olympic Games Moscow 1980". Archived from the original on 14 June 2012.
  4. "WORLD STUDENT GAMES (UNIVERSIADE - WOMEN)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  5. "A look back at women's 400m/400m hurdles event history at the Commonwealth Games". Athletics Weekly. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  6. Groom, Graham (17 October 2017). The Complete Book of the Commonwealth Games. pp. 108–109. ISBN 9780244940317.
  7. "1986 Athletes". Team England.
  8. "England team in 1986". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  9. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  10. "AAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (WOMEN)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  11. "AAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (WOMEN)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  12. "UK CHAMPIONSHIPS". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  13. "Yvette Wray". Power of 10. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
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