Perri Shakes-Drayton in 2010 |
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 21 December 1988 London, England |
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| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Tower Hamlets and Victoria Park Harriers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 54.18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Updated on July 31, 2010. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Perri Shakes-Drayton (born 21 December 1988 in London, England) is a British athlete who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. She came to prominence at the English Schools Championships where she set a UK junior record time in the 400 m hurdles.[1] She made her first major international appearance at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics where she finished eighth, achieving a new personal best of 57.52 seconds.[2] She took the silver medal at the 2007 European Athletics Junior Championships with a time of 56.46 s, a national junior record in the event.[3][4]
Shakes-Drayton won the 400 m hurdles at the 2008 Olympic trials but failed to obtain the A grade selection standard, thus veteran Tasha Danvers was chosen to represent Great Britain instead, and went on to win the bronze medal.[5] However, she is considered to be a medal prospect for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.[2] At the 2009 British Championships in Birmingham, she finished second in the 400 metres behind reigning world champion Christine Ohuruogu, setting a new personal best. Further success came on the junior circuit at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships, where set won the 400 m hurdles gold medal with a run of 55.26 seconds, another personal best. Having secured a place on the Great Britain team, she set her sights on the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, remarking: "I like people talking about me. It means I must be doing some things right. Now I have to live up to the hype because hype is pointless if you don't live up to it.".[6]
She ran at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin and reached the semi-finals of the competition. However, she finished seventh in the race with a time of 57.57 seconds and did not compete in the final. She ran a personal best of 54.91 seconds for the 400 m hurdles to win at the Memorial Primo Nebiolo in June 2010.[7]
In the absence of Tasha Danvers, Shakes-Drayton and Eilidh Child were the sole representatives for Great Britain at the 2010 European Championships in Athletics. Shakes-Drayton finished 2nd in her heat, with a time of 55.35. She then finished 3rd in her semi-final to qualify for the final in a new personal best of 54.73. In the final she finished third to win the bronze medal with a new personal best of 54.18.
Contents |
| Event | Time (sec) | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 metres | 7.44 | London | 18 January 2009 |
| 400 metres | 51.47 | Rome, Italy | 26 May 2011 |
| 400 metres hurdles | 54.17 | Barcelona, Spain | 30 July 2010 |
All information from IAAF profile and BBC Sport[8][9]
Shakes-Drayton was born in East London and grew up in Bow, where she still lives. She attended Holy Family R.C. Primary School in Poplar, London and Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School in Stepney. She is currently studying sport science at Brunel University.