FACTOIDS
Full Name: Kelly Sotherton
Nickname: Kelly
Birthday: November 13, 1976
Height: 5’9”
Hometown: Newport, Isle of Wight
Sports: Track & Field
PROFILE
Sotherton was born in Newport on the Isle of Wight. As a teenager, she played netball for Hampshire, but also won two English Schools’ championships in the heptathlon.
She moved to the Midlands in order to train with 2000 Olympic heptathlon champion Denise Lewis. She made her senior British team debut in 2002.
The javelin throw is considered her weakest discipline and has been cited as the main reason for her lack of medals at the 2005 World Championships and 2006 European Championships.
She trains at the grounds of the world famous athletics club Birchfield Harriers which is based in Birmingham, England.
She gained international recognition in 2004 when she surprisingly won a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Athens behind Carolina Klüft (gold) and Austra Skujyte (silver), scoring 6424 points and finishing ahead of defending Olympic champion Lewis who dropped out due to injury.
