Diana Pickler

Diana Lynn Pickler (born December 9, 1983) 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.

Career

Spending her amateur career with Washington State University, she won her first major national honours in 2001, taking the national junior championship in the heptathlon. Track and Field News rated her as the country's top junior heptathlete that year.[1] She represented the United States at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics but finished in 15th place with 4539 points, well below her season's best of 5365.[2]

The 2003 and 2004 seasons were uneventful but she matured as a senior athlete the following two seasons, taking sixth place in the NCAA championships in 2005 and improving to third place in 2006. She also finished fifth at the national outdoor championships that year. The 2007 season represented a significant progression: her personal best reached over 6000 points for the first time and she was ranked as the number one American heptathlete by Track and Field News. She was runner-up at the national outdoor championships, and also runner-up in the indoor championships in the pentathlon. She was part of the American team for the 2007 World Championships and, although she finished 25th, it was the best performance by an American in the event.[1][2]

After taking third at the 2008 Olympic trials with a personal best of 6,257 points, she represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, she strained her hamstring in the first event (100 meter hurdles) and failed to finish the competition.[1][2] At the 2009 national championships, an injury to the favourite Hyleas Fountain resulted in Pickler's first senior national title. She took first place with event bests in the 800 meters and shot put, and a personal heptathlon best of 6290 points, finishing ahead of Sharon Day and Bettie Wade.[3]

Other appearances

Pickler appeared at the 7th KUNOICHI competition (known in the US as Women of Ninja Warrior) in the summer of 2007, but failed on the Log Jam in the first stage when her foot hit the water as she tried to climb back onto a log after losing her balance.

Statistics

Personal bests
Event Best Venue Year Notes
100 meter hurdles 13.25 secs Sacramento, California, United States June 7, 2007
High jump 1.84 m Austin, Texas, United States April 4, 2007
Shot put 13.49 m Eugene, Oregon, United States June 27, 2009
200 meters 24.07 secs Indianapolis, Indiana, United States June 21, 2007
Long jump 6.36 m Desenzano, Italy May 11, 2008
Javelin 44.03 m Palo Alto, California, United States May 6, 2007
800 meters 2:16.59 mins Eugene, Oregon, United States June 28, 2009
Heptathlon 6257 pts Eugene, Oregon, United States June 28, 2009
  • All information taken from IAAF profile.[2]

Competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing the  United States
2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 15th Heptathlon 4539 pts
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 25th Heptathlon 5838 pts
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China — Heptathlon DNF

KUNOICHI record
  • 7th competition (99) - Failed Log Jam - First Stage

References
  1. Diana Pickler Archived 2010-11-01 at the Wayback Machine. USATF. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
  2. Pickler, Diana. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
  3. 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.
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