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Olive Loughnane

Olive Loughnane

Personal information
Born	(1976-01-14) 14 January 1976 (age 48)
Education	B.Comm., 1996
Alma mater	University College Galway
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	53 kg (117 lb)
Sport
Country	Ireland
Sport	Athletics
Event	20km Race Walk
Medal record World Championships 2009 Berlin 20 km walk

Olive Loughnane (born 14 January 1976) is an Irish retired racewalker. A four-times Olympian, she is the 2009 world gold medalist in the 20 km walk.

Early life[edit]

Loughane was born in 1976 in County Cork, the eldest of seven children. She moved to Carrabane, County Galway, with her family when she was a child. She is a graduate of University College Galway, having obtained a B.Comm. in 1996.^[1]

Sporting career[edit]

Loughnane competed at four Olympic Games (2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and six consecutive editions of the World Championships in Athletics. She won a gold medal at the 2009 World Championships after the disqualification of the original gold medallist for a drug offence.^[2] As of December 2016, Loughnane had not received the prize money.^[3]

Loughnane failed to finish the walk at the 2010 European Athletics Championships. She had a win on the 2011 World Race Walking circuit at the Dudinska Patdesiatka in March 2011.^[4]

Loughnane announced her retirement in February 2013.^[5]

Achievements[edit]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Ireland
1999	World Race Walking Cup	Mézidon-Canon, France	91st	20 km	1:48:04
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	35th	20 km	1:38:23
2001	European Race Walking Cup	Dudince, Slovakia	26th	20 km	1:36:50
	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	13th	20 km	1:35:24
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	13th	20 km	1:33:08
	World Race Walking Cup	Torino, Italy	—	20 km	DNF
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	12th	20 km	1:30:53
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	—	20 km	DNF
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	—	20 km	DQ
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	17th	20 km	1:36:00
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	7th	20 km	1:27:45
	World Race Walking Cup	Cheboksary, Russia	6th	20 km	1:29:17
2009	European Race Walking Cup	Metz, France	4th	20 km	1:34:52
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	1st	20 km	1:28:58
2010	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	—	20 km	DNF
2011	European Race Walking Cup	Olhão, Portugal	—	20 km	DQ
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	16th	20 km	1:34:02
2012	World Race Walking Cup	Saransk, Russia	8th	20 km	1:31:32
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	13th	20 km	1:29:39

Sports administration[edit]

Loughnane became a member of the Sport Ireland High Performance Committee after retiring from competitive sport in 2013, and subsequently became of a member of the board of Sport Ireland.

Personal life[edit]

Loughnane currently lives in Coachford, Cork with her husband, Martin Corkery, and their three children. She currently works as a Statistician in the Central Statistics Office (CSO).^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Olive LoughnaneatWorld Athletics