Donna Fraser

Donna Fraser

Donna Fraser competing in a UK Women's League match at Birmingham
Medal record
Representing  United Kingdom
Women's athletics
World Championships
	2005 Helsinki	4x400 m relay
	2007 Osaka	4x400 m relay
Commonwealth Games
	1998 Kuala Lumpur	400 m
	1998 Kuala Lumpur	4x100 m relay
European Championships
	1998 Budapest	4x400 m relay
European Indoor Championships
	2009 Torino	4x400 m relay
	2005 Madrid	4x400 m relay
World Junior Championships
	1990 Plovdiv	4x100 m relay
European Junior Championships
	1991 Thessaloniki	400 m
	1991 Thessaloniki	4x100 m relay

Donna Karen Fraser (born 7 November 1972) in Thornton Heath, Croydon is a former English athlete, who mainly competed in the 200 and 400 m.

Career

An exceptional junior, Fraser won six English Schools 200 m titles (as well as a silver medal for the 4 x 100 m at the 1990 World Junior Championships^[1][2]) before turning to the 400 m in 1991 and becoming European Junior Champion at the distance the same year (also gaining a silver medal for the 4 x 100 m).^[1][2] However, she didn't improve until 1996, when she began to concentrate on the 400 m seriously and qualified for British teams in the major outdoor championships between 1996 and 1999. However, it was at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 that she finally showed the potential she had had as a junior, when she clipped almost a second off her PB to finish 4th with a personal best time of 49.79 seconds, thanks in no small part to her training alongside Olympic Champion Cathy Freeman for that season.

A finalist in 1998 at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games (where she took a bronze medal), she has also played an integral part of Britain's 4 x 400 relay team, taking medals at the World Championships in 2005, European Championships and Commonwealth Games. She also won the BBC London Athlete of the Year Award for 2005.^[3] But her career after 2000 stalled due to a catalogue of injuries (including a torn achilles tendon^[1][2]).

At the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, Fraser went as part of the 4 x 400 m relay squad. Despite not running in the final, she received a bronze medal, as she competed in the heats on the 2nd leg.

In September 2009, she announced that she was going to leave athletics to return to working full time at EDF Energy. Her final major race was the 400 m at the British Grand Prix at Gateshead, where she finished 7th with a time of 54.11 seconds.^[1][2] However she has continued to race for the Croydon Harriers, an athletics club based at the Croydon Sports Arena.^[1][2][4]

Major achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing the  United Kingdom and  England
1990	World Junior Championships	Plovdiv, Bulgaria	13th (sf)	200m	24.19 (wind: +0.5m/s)
			2nd	4×100m relay	44.16
1991	European Junior Championships	Thessaloniki, Greece	1st	400 metres	53.54
			2nd	4x100 metres	44.57
1998	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	3rd	400 metres	51.01
			3rd	4x100 metres	3:29.28
	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	3rd	4x400m relay	3:25.66
2000	Olympics	Sydney, Australia	4th	400 m	49.79
2005	European Indoor Championships	Madrid, Spain	3rd	4x400m relay	3:29.81
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	3rd	4x400m relay	3:24.44
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	3rd[5]	4x400m relay	3:25.45
2009	European Indoor Championships	Turin, Italy	2nd	4x400m relay	3:30.42

References

1. Moody, Fraser (2 September 2009). "Farewell to fab Fraser". The Croydon Guardian (Printed edition). Newsquest Media Group. p. 93.
2. Moody, Graham (2 September 2009). "Croydon Harrier Fraser looks back on career". Croydon Guardian. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
3. Donna Fraser - BBC LONDON Athlete of the Year 2005 BBC, accessed 7 November 2007
4. http://www.croydonharriers.com/News/305/Fraser-returns-to-lift-senior-Harriers.htm : Retrieved 11 July 2011.
5. Competed only in the heat.

External links

• Donna Fraser profile at IAAF
• Donna Fraser, Olympics UK