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Montell Douglas

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Montell Douglas
Personal information
Birth nameMontell Marcelle Douglas
Born (1986-01-24) 24 January 1986 (age 38)
Lewisham, London, England
Alma materBrunel University
Occupation(s)Runner (formerly), Bobsledder, Television personality
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
CountryUnited Kingdom Great Britain
SportAthletics, Bobsleigh
Turned pro2007 (athletics)
2016 (bobsleigh)
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals2008 Summer, 2022 Winter
Personal best(s)60 m 7.25
100 m 11.05
200 m 23.38

Montell Marcelle Douglas (born 24 January 1986) is a British multi-sports Olympian. Originally a sprinter and former British record holder for the 100 metres at 11.05 seconds, she competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Taking up bobsleigh in 2016 and becoming part of the Great Britain two-woman bobsleigh team the following year, she competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics. She is one of the two athletes, the other being Jaqueline Mourão, who participated in both of the Olympic Games hosted by Beijing. Outside of competing, she went on to appear as "Fire" in the 2024 BBC One reboot of Gladiators, and was subsequently a contestant on the twenty-second series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Early life

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Montell Marcelle Douglas was born on January 24, 1986, in Lewisham. She was raised by Jamaican parents. At a very young age, Douglas developed an interest in athletics and was encouraged by her PE Teacher to participate in it.[1]

She attended Ravensbourne School and went on to study sports science at Brunel University.

Athletics career

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Douglas made her first senior major championship appearance at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships. Although she was knocked out in the semi-finals, she set a new 60 metres personal best of 7.28 seconds.

She was part of the British 4 x 100 metres relay team that finished fourth at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka (along with Laura Turner, Joice Maduaka and Emily Freeman). At the same championships, she competed in the 100 m individual event but was eliminated in the quarter-finals stage.

In the 2008 season, she finished second behind Jeanette Kwakye in the women's 100 m at the British Championships. At the Loughborough European Athletics meeting on 17 July, during the semi-final, she ran a wind-assisted (+2.6 m/s) time of 10.95 seconds. In the final, she broke Kathy Cook's British record with a time of 11.05 seconds. Douglas had improved her personal best by almost a quarter of a second and broken a national record which had stood unbeaten for over a quarter of a century in the process.[2]

2008 Summer Olympics

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Douglas represented Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics, in the 100 metres. In her first round heat, she placed second behind Ivet Lalova in a time of 11.36 to advance to the second round. There she failed to qualify for the semi-finals as her time of 11.38 was only the fourth fastest time of her heat, causing elimination.[3] She was also part of the Great Britain team which reached the final of the 4x100 metres relay, and which (along with the Jamaican team) were favourites to claim a medal. Jeanette Kwakye ran a good first bend in the final, but the British team failed to finish due to a mix-up in the changeover between Douglas and Emily Freeman. Jamaica also failed to finish after a similar error between Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart.[4]

Personal bests

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Event Best Location Date
60 metres 7.25 s Newham, England 13 February 2013
100 metres 11.05 s Loughborough, England 17 July 2008
200 metres (outdoor) 23.34 s La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland 28 June 2009
200 metres (indoor) 23.93 s Birmingham, England 20 February 2005
  • All information taken from IAAF profile.[5]

Bobsleigh career

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In 2016, Douglas took up bobsleigh. She finished in the top 10 on her Bobsleigh World Cup debut in January 2017, and later in the season, she finished seventh at an event in St. Moritz.[6] She was Great Britain's reserve athlete for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.[6] In 2019, Douglas and Mica McNeill finished sixth in the 2-women bobsleigh event in Königssee.[7] In 2020, Douglas and McNeill came fourth in the 2020–21 Bobsleigh World Cup 2-women event in Innsbruck.[8] In January 2022, Douglas and McNeill were selected for the 2-women event at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Douglas became the first female Briton to compete at the Summer and Winter Olympics, and notably, both were held in Beijing.[9] The pair finished 17th in the two-woman event.[10]

Outside sport

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Douglas appeared on the game show Who Dares Wins on 14 January 2011 and won £12,500.[11] In May 2023, Douglas was named as "Fire’, one of the new Gladiators in a reboot of the television series of the same name to be broadcast on BBC One.[12]

In 2024, Douglas announced that she suffers from extremely heavy and painful periods.[13]

In August 2024, Douglas was announced as a contestant on the twenty-second series of Strictly Come Dancing.[14]

She has also done athletics coaching and development commitments, motivational speaking and advocating for women's sport.

References

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  1. ^ "Montell Douglas". Sports For Champions. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  2. ^ Douglas sets new GB 100m record. BBC Sport (17 July 2008). Retrieved on 12 May 2009.
  3. ^ Athlete biography: Montell Douglas, beijing2008.cn, ret: 27 August 2008
  4. ^ "Russia claim surprise relay gold". BBC Sport. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  5. ^ Douglas Montell Biography. IAAF. Retrieved on 12 May 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Montell Douglas". British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Consett bobsleigh star Mica McNeill impresses again on World Cup stage". The Northern Echo. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  8. ^ "MCNEILL AND DOUGLAS RAISE EYEBROWS AS NOLTE TAKES INNSBRUCK VICTORY". Eurosport. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Winter Olympics: Montell Douglas becomes GB's first female summer and Winter Olympian with bobsleigh selection". BBC Sport. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Final results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Who Dares Wins". 3. Episode 2. 4 January 2011. BBC.
  12. ^ "New Gladiators Giant, Fire and Legend are ready to face the challenge of champions". BBC Media Centre. 18 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Gladiator 'Fire' Montell Douglas: Being hospitalised with excruciating period pain was a 'wake-up call'". Irish News. 4 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Montell Douglas is the twelfth celebrity contestant confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing 2024". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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