Hyleas Fountain

Last updated

Hyleas Fountain
Personal information
Birth nameHyleas Fountain
Nationality American
Born (1981-01-14) January 14, 1981 (age 43)
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight64 kg (141 lb)
Sport
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
SportAthletics
Event(s) Heptathlon, 60 metres hurdles, Long Jump
Coached byLynn Smith
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2008 Beijing Heptathlon
Updated on 4 August 2012

Hyleas Fountain (born January 14, 1981) is an American heptathlete. She was the silver medalist in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Contents

Career

Early years

Fountain was born in Columbus, Georgia, and was a member of the 1992 Harrisburg Parks and Recreation track club under coach Horace Camero, until 1994 Greater Paxtonia Track Club under coach Darnell L Williams. She attended Central Dauphin East High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she was under the coaching of Al Moten, Fred Leuschner, Jim Seidler, and Braden Cook. She then continued her career at Barton Community College (Kansas) under Coach Lance Brauman of PURE Athletics Inc and then going to the University of Georgia under coach Wayne Norton. Fountain has won NCAA championships in both the heptathlon and long jump.

2005-2006

She finished 12th at the 2005 World Championships and eighth at the 2006 World Indoor Championships.

2008

In 2008, Fountain qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics by winning the U.S. Olympic Trials with a personal best score of 6667 points in the heptathlon. Fountain set personal bests in five of the seven heptathlon events at the Trials. [1]

At the Olympics themselves, she originally finished in the bronze medal position. However, after the silver medallist Lyudmila Blonska tested positive on her drug test, Fountain was elevated to the silver medal position.

2009-2010

Fountain seemed sure to qualify for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics after gaining a significant lead in the heptathlon at the US Championships (5193 points after five events). However, she injured her neck in the high jump event and aggravated the injury after a personal best long jump, thus ruling her out of the US and World Championships. [2]

She finished fourth in the pentathlon at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, setting a personal record of 4753 points as well as setting indoor bests in the shot put, high jump and 800 meters. Later that year she took on reigning world champion Jessica Ennis in a three-event challenge at the Adidas Grand Prix. Although Fountain won only one of the events, she won the competition by merit of having the greatest points total. [3]

2011

She led the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea after 2 events, but then fell away and pulled out of the final event (800 meters) without announcing why. [4]

2012

Qualified for the 2012 London Olympics on June 30, 2012.

In the Heptathlon at the London 2012 Olympics, Hyleas was competitive up until a disappointing Long Jump, where she began to suffer from lower back pains. She continued into the Javelin but was only able to make a non-competitive performance. She did not compete in the 800 metres and while finishing with the highest incomplete score, officially registered a DNF. [5]

Personal bests (outdoor)

EventPerformanceLocationDate
Heptathlon6735 Des Moines 06-26-2010
200 meters23.21 (0.3 m/s) Beijing 08-15-2008
800 meters2:15.32 Talence 09-14-2008
100 meters hurdles12.70 (1.3 m/s)London08-03-2012
High jump1.90Des Moines06-25-2010
Long jump6.89 (0.6 m/s)Luzern07-15-2009
Javelin throw48.15 Eugene 06-28-2008
Shot put13.81Eugene06-27-2009

Last updated 14 January 2015.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolina Klüft</span> Swedish heptathlete and long jumper (born 1983)

Carolina Evelyn Klüft is a retired Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon, pentathlon, long jump and triple jump. She was an Olympic Champion, having won the heptathlon title in 2004. She was also a three-time World heptathlon champion, World Indoor pentathlon champion, a two-time European heptathlon champion and a two-time European Indoor pentathlon champion. Klüft is the only athlete ever to win three consecutive world titles in the heptathlon. She was unbeaten in 22 heptathlon and pentathlon competitions from 2002 to 2007, her entire combined events career as a senior athlete, winning nine consecutive gold medals in major championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Sotherton</span> British heptathlete

Kelly Jade Sotherton is a British former heptathlete, long jumper and relay runner. In the heptathlon she was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and, following the disqualification of two other athletes, also at the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as being part of the bronze medal-winning team in the Women's 4x400m relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics. As such she is one of only five women to win multiple medals in Olympic heptathlon. She also won a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. Representing England, Sotherton is a one-time Commonwealth Games champion, as the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Ennis-Hill</span> British former track and field athlete

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill is a British retired athlete, specialising in the heptathlon and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion, and the 2010 European champion. She is also the 2010 World Indoor pentathlon champion. A member of the City of Sheffield & Dearne athletic club, she is a former British national record holder for the heptathlon. She is also a former British record holder in the 100 metres hurdles, the high jump and the indoor pentathlon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nataliya Dobrynska</span> Ukrainian heptathlete (born 1982)

Nataliya Dobrynska is a retired Ukrainian athlete who competed in the combined events. She is the 2008 Beijing Olympic champion and also holds the heptathlon best in the shot put. Dobrynska was the world indoor record holder for the pentathlon with a score of 5013 points until March 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatyana Chernova</span> Russian heptathlete

Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova is a Russian former heptathlete.

Diana Lynn Pickler is an American heptathlete from Shreveport, Louisiana. She has represented her country at the Olympic and World Championship levels and was the 2009 US heptathlon champion. Her twin sister, Julie Pickler, is also a track and field athlete.

The Women's Heptathlon at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 16 and August 17. A number of high-profile heptathletes did not feature at the competition, including defending champion Carolina Klüft and 2007 bronze medallist Kelly Sotherton, who were both injured, and Olympic silver medallist Hyleas Fountain, who failed to qualify at the national championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brianne Theisen-Eaton</span> Canadian athlete

Brianne Theisen-Eaton is a retired Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon and women's pentathlon. She won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Theisen-Eaton holds the Canadian record for the heptathlon with 6,808 points, as well as the indoor pentathlon with a score of 4768 points. Theisen-Eaton is a heptathlon silver medallist from the 2013 World Championships and 2015 World Championships, as well as a pentathlon silver medalist from the 2014 World Indoor Championships. She is the first and only Canadian woman to podium in the multi-events at the World Championships. Theisen-Eaton won Commonwealth Games gold in the heptathlon at Glasgow 2014 and was the 2016 World Indoor Champion in the pentathlon. She also won a bronze medal as part of the women's 4 x 400 m relay at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's heptathlon</span>

The Women's heptathlon competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 3–4 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 World Championships in Athletics – Women's heptathlon</span>

The Women's Heptathlon at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on 29 and 30 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Day-Monroe</span> American heptathlete and high jumper

Sharon Day-Monroe is an American heptathlete, pentathlete and high jumper. She is the 2011, 2013, and 2014 national heptathlon champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katarina Johnson-Thompson</span> English heptathlete (born 1993)

Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson is an English athlete. A multi-eventer, she is primarily known as both a heptathlete and an indoor pentathlete. In heptathlon she is a double world champion, double Commonwealth Games champion and an Olympic silver medallist. In indoor pentathlon, she is a world and double European champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadine Broersen</span> Dutch track and field athlete

Nadine Broersen is a Dutch track and field athlete, specializing in the heptathlon and high jump. She was the 2014 World Indoor pentathlon champion. Broersen competes for the track and field club AV Sprint in Breda.

Jacquelyn Kate Johnson is an American heptathlete. She is a four-time NCAA outdoor champion, and a three-time NCAA indoor champion (2006–2008) while competing for Arizona State University. She also set a personal best of 6,347 points by placing second at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, which guaranteed her a qualifying place for the Olympics. Johnson was a member of the track and field team for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where she wa coached and trained by Dan O'Brien, gold medalist in the decathlon at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2008, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female collegiate track and field athlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nafissatou Thiam</span> Belgian athlete (born 1994)

Nafissatou "Nafi" Thiam is a Belgian athlete specialising in multi-event competition. She is the first athlete with three multi-event gold medals at the Olympic Games, winning the heptathlon at the 2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics. Her three individual Olympic golds in a row for a woman equals the record of Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland in the hammer and Faith Kipyegon in the 1500 metres Thiam is also the only Belgian athlete to successfully defend an Olympic title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Lake</span> British athlete

Morgan Lake is a British high jumper. She won the silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and placed fourth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Lake finished sixth in the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and fourth in the 2018 World Indoor Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janieve Russell</span> Jamaican track and field athlete

Janieve Russell is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competes mainly in the 400 metres hurdles and the 400 metres sprint. She won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay in Tokyo 2021, where she also finished fourth in the 400m hurdles final in a personal best of 53.08 secs. She is a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, winning the 400m hurdles title in 2018 and 2022, and the 4 × 400 m relay in 2014 and 2018. She has also won two relay silvers at the World Championships and a relay gold at the World Indoor Championships.

The women's heptathlon competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was won by Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 12–13 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 World Championships in Athletics – Women's heptathlon</span>

The women's heptathlon at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 22 and 23 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chari Hawkins</span> American heptathlete

Chari Wanda Hawkins is an American track and field athlete who competes in combined events. She won the 2022 U.S. Indoor Pentathlon title and has represented the U.S. in the heptathlon at the 2019 World Championships, finishing 12th, and at the 2023 World Championships, finishing 8th.

References

  1. Fountain’s hot run of PBs takes her to a world leading 6667 - US Trials Heptathlon
  2. Gordon, Ed (2009-06-29). Injured Fountain abandons, title goes to Pickler with 6290 – US Heptathlon Champs, Day 2. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
  3. Mills, Stephen (2010-06-13). Ennis upstaged by Fountain in New York [ permanent dead link ]. Athletics Weekly . Retrieved on 2010-06-17.
  4. Hyleas Fountain fails to finish in world heptathlon. Retrieved on 2011-08-30.
  5. "Olympics 2012: Hyleas Fountain scratches from the last event of the heptathlon". August 5, 2012.