Donna Fraser saying a final farewell to the British crowd at the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace 2009
Donna Fraser saying a final farewell to the British crowd at the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace 2009. She retired from competition at the end of thre 2009 track and field seasson. Competing as an for Great Britain and Northern Ireland for over a decade, she had intended retirement following the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after a tough couple of years. In 2009, she competing successfully indoors, over 200m and 400m – where she became double UK champion - and even earned an deserved GB & NI vest at the European Indoor Championships in Italy in March, resulting in a 4x400m bronze. Donna Karen Fraser (born 7 November 1972) in Croydon is an English athlete who mainly competed in the 200 and 400 metres. An exceptional junior, she won six English Schools 200m titles (as well as a silver medal for the 4x100m at the 1990 World Junior Championships, before turning to the 400m in 1991 and becoming European Junior Champion at the distance the same year (also gaining a silver medal for the 4x100m)]. However, she didn't improve until 1996, when she began to concentrate on the 400m 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 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 4x400 relay team, taking medals at the World Championships in 2005, European Championships and Commowealth Games. She also won the BBC London Athlete of the Year Award for 2005.
Size: 3359px × 5048px
Location: Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, Ledrington Road, London, SE19 2BB, England, UK
Photo credit: © John Gaffen 2 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: athlete, british, runner, sport, sprinter, woman
