Elizabeth Gleadle
Elizabeth "Liz" Gleadle is a Canadian javelin thrower and the national record holder, with a best throw of 64.83 meters set in Kawasaki in 2015. She has won two Pan American Games medals, reached the World Championship finals three times (best finish 9th), and is a three-time Olympian, making the final in 2012 and placing 12th.
Gleadle was born in Vancouver on December 5, 1988, to Dan and Sonia. She tried many sports as a child and began javelin in eighth grade. She quickly excelled, winning youth championships in British Columbia and Canada. She joined the Vancouver Thunderbirds Track and Field Club and later focused on javelin. She attended the University of British Columbia, where she won the NAIA Championships four times and set NAIA records.
In 2011 she left school briefly to train full-time at the National Throws Training Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta, with coach Lawrence Steinke. After the London Olympics, she returned to her studies while continuing to train. She missed the 2013 season due to a back injury. In 2014 she finished fifth at the Commonwealth Games (60.69 m) and third at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakesh.
She broke the Canadian record in May 2015 with 64.83 m at the Golden Grand Prix in Kawasaki, and later that year won the Canadian Championships. She competed at the World Championships, finishing 11th. In 2016 at the Harry Jerome Classic, a throw narrowly missed a cameraman, and she promptly apologized.
Gleadle represented Canada at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, finishing 16th in qualifying and not advancing to the final. She reached a World Championship final again in 2017. She competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), finishing 23rd in qualifying.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:05 (CET).