Melissa Bishop
Bishop at the 2016 Olympics | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality | Canadian |
Born |
Eganville, Ontario | August 5, 1988
Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1] |
Weight | 56 kg (123 lb)[1] |
Sport | |
Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | 800 metres |
College team | University of Windsor |
Achievements and titles | |
Personal best(s) |
400 m: 56.46s, Ottawa, 2004 800 m: 1:57.01s NR, Monte Carlo, 2017 1000 m: 2:38.75s , Amsterdam, 2014[2] |
Medal record
|
Melissa Bishop-Nriagu (born August 5, 1988) is a Canadian runner who specialises in the 800 metres. She competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and won a silver medal at the 2015 World Athletics Championships. Her World Championship medal was the first ever medal in the 800 m by a Canadian woman. Bishop-Nriagu graduated from University of Windsor and is only the third Canadian woman to achieve a time under 2:00 minutes in the 800 m. She is currently the national record holder for the women's 800 m.
Career
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Bishop-Nriagu placed sixth in her heat and did not advance to the semi-finals.
Her next major sporting event was the 2015 Pan American Games located in her home country of Canada. There, Bishop-Nriagu competed in the 800m in Toronto, in the final she ran a time of 1:59.62 to win the gold and the title of Pan Am champion. Of the home crowd Bishop-Nriagu said, "I knew the crowd was going to be loud no matter what, so I was just trying to put myself in a good position to be able to runthrough. I'm really happy it worked out. It's so nice to win a gold medal at home."[3]
Bishop-Nriagu finished 2nd in the 800 meters at the 2015 World Athletics Championships in China. In the semi-finals she set a national record while winning in 1:57.52, beating a record set by Diane Cummins which had stood for 14 years.[4] The final, a race characterized by several pace changes up and down, saw Bishop-Nriagu in a three-way sprint to the medals where she finished in second place. After the race she said that, "It's really a dream come true. Our training has been really consistent over the last few years. This year, we've really worked on a few things and I've been waiting for the right race. I'm really happy that it came here at the [world] championships."[4]
The 2016 Summer Olympics saw Bishop-Nriagu compete as a part of Canada's Olympic team.[5] Bishop-Nriagu was ranked third in the world as of July 27, 2016, after posting a national record of 1:57.43 in Edmonton, on July 16. Bishop-Nriagu finished 4th in the 800 m final in Rio de Janeiro, again setting a new national record for the 800 m with a 1:57.02 finish. Caster Semenya would win gold while Margaret Wambui would pass Bishop-Nriagu for bronze in the final 50 m, beating her by 0.13s. A teary-eyed Bishop-Nriagu said after the race that "It's really kind of hard to describe this right now. This is what we work for for a decade and to be that close...this is tough."[6]
Personal life
Born in Eganville, Ontario, Bishop-Nriagu lives by Lake Dore with her parents, Alison and Doug Bishop.[1] Bishop-Nriagu married fellow Canadian athlete Osi Nriagu, in October 2017.[7] The couple announced they were expecting their first child in February 2018 with the baby due in June 2018.[8]
Achievements
- 2nd, 800 meters; 2015 Beijing, World Championships, China
- 2nd, 2012 National Championships, Calgary, Canada (Olympic "A" Standard).
- Personal Best: 1:57.01 – Canadian record (800 m outdoor); Monaco (MON), World Athletic Championships, Final, July 21, 2017
References
- 1 2 3 "Melissa Bishop". olympic.ca. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
- ↑ "IAAF Profile". IAAF. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Melissa Bishop gives Canada gold in 800m". CBC Sports. July 22, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- 1 2 "Melissa Bishop grabs silver in women's 800m at Beijing worlds". CBC Sports. August 29, 2015.
- ↑ Hossain, Asif (July 11, 2016). "Athletics Canada nominates largest squad to Team Canada for Rio". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Melissa Bishop heartbroken after missing 800 podium". CBC Sports. August 21, 2016.
- ↑ "Melissa Bishop shares wedding day photo". Canadian Running. October 7, 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ↑ "Running star Melissa Bishop trading track for diaper changing this summer". Windsor Star. February 2, 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melissa Bishop. |