Donna Fraser

Donna Karen Fraser OBE (born 7 November 1972) in Thornton Heath, Croydon is a former English athlete, who mainly competed in the 200 and 400 m.

Donna Fraser

Donna Fraser competing in a UK Women's League match at Birmingham
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Women's athletics
World Championships
2005 Helsinki4x400 m relay
2007 Osaka4x400 m relay
Commonwealth Games
1998 Kuala Lumpur400 m
1998 Kuala Lumpur4x100 m relay
European Championships
1998 Budapest4x400 m relay
European Indoor Championships
2009 Torino4x400 m relay
2005 Madrid4x400 m relay
World Junior Championships
1990 Plovdiv4x100 m relay
European Junior Championships
1991 Thessaloniki400 m
1991 Thessaloniki4x100 m relay

Career

An exceptional junior, Fraser won six English Schools 200 m titles (as well as a silver medal for the 4 × 100 m at the 1990 World Junior Championships[1][2]) before turning to the 400 m in 1991 and becoming European Junior Champion at the distance the same year (also gaining a silver medal for the 4 × 100 m).[1][2] However, she didn't improve until 1996, when she began to concentrate on the 400 m 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 49.79 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 4 x 400 relay team, taking medals at the World Championships in 2005, European Championships and Commonwealth Games. She also won the BBC London Athlete of the Year Award for 2005.[3] But her career after 2000 stalled due to a catalogue of injuries (including a torn achilles tendon[1][2]).

At the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, Fraser went as part of the 4 × 400 m relay squad. Despite not running in the final, she received a bronze medal, as she competed in the heats on the 2nd leg.

In September 2009, she announced that she was going to leave athletics to return to working full-time at EDF Energy. Her final major race was the 400 m at the British Grand Prix at Gateshead, where she finished 7th with a time of 54.11 seconds.[1][2] However, she has continued to race for the Croydon Harriers, an athletics club based at the Croydon Sports Arena.[1][2][4]

Fraser was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to equality, inclusion and diversity in the workplace.[5]

Major achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Great Britain and  England
1990 World Junior Championships Plovdiv, Bulgaria 13th (sf) 200m 24.19 (wind: +0.5 m/s)
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 44.16
1991 European Junior Championships Thessaloniki, Greece 1st 400 metres 53.54
2nd 4x100 metres 44.57
1998 Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd 400 metres 51.01
3rd 4x100 metres 3:29.28
European Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:25.66
2000 Olympics Sydney, Australia 4th 400 m 49.79
2005 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:29.81
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:24.44
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 3rd[6] 4 × 400 m relay 3:25.45
2009 European Indoor Championships Turin, Italy 2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:30.42
Preceded by
Katharine Merry		 British Champion in 400m
2000		 Succeeded by
Lesley Owusu
Preceded by
Christine Ohuruogu		 British Champion in 400m
2005		 Succeeded by
Nicola Sanders

References
  1. Moody, Fraser (2 September 2009). "Farewell to fab Fraser". The Croydon Guardian (Printed edition). Newsquest Media Group. p. 93.
  2. Moody, Graham (2 September 2009). "Croydon Harrier Fraser looks back on career". Croydon Guardian. Newsquest Media Group. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  3. Donna Fraser - BBC LONDON Athlete of the Year 2005 BBC, accessed 7 November 2007
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) : Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  5. "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N11.
  6. Competed only in the heat.
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