Athlete Profiles 

 Madeleine Pape 

Madeleine Pape
8

In Madeleine’s Olympic debut in Beijing she placed sixth in the heat of the women’s 800m (2.03.09) in a tactical race, failing to progress.

Date of Birth:
24.02.1984
Discipline:
Middle Distance
Occupation:
Student
Height:
169cm
Weight:
57kg
State:
VIC
Coach:
Eric Hollingsworth
Previous Coaches:
Peter Fortune, Tony Benson, Terry McGrath
Scholarship:
VIS
Club:
Waverley Athletics Club
Place of Birth/Residence:
Melbourne, VIC
Marital Status
Single
Flame Team Number
8
Joined Flame Team On
N/A
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 Further Information 

Competition Stats

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:
400 metres:
2005 - 7th (U23), 2009 - 3rd (2nd Australian)
800 metres: 2005 - 1st (U23), 2007 - 2nd, 2008 - 2nd, 2009 - 1st

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Olympic Games: 2008 - 800m 6th heat (2.03.10)
World University Games: 2009 - 800m 1stWorld Championships: 2009 - 800m 6th heat (2:05.85)

 

ANNUAL PROGRESSION:
400 metres:
2004 56.36
2005 56.10
2006 55.71
2007 53.56
2008 53.58
2009 53.58

800 metres:
2004 2.09.82
2005 2.08.00
2006 2.05.38
2007 2.01.17
2008 1.59.92
2009 2:00.34

EVENTS/PERSONAL BESTS:
400 metres:
53.56 - Melbourne, 1/03/07
800 metres: 1.59.92 - Sydney, 16/02/08

Interesting Facts

A former Australian football boundary umpire with Melbourne’s Eastern Football League, Madeleine had shared aims to umpire at AFL level and compete on the track at the Olympic Games. She was advised that running on heavier grounds over winter would in no way benefit her summer track work so gave away umpiring at the end of 2004. Coached by former pro athlete Terry McGrath, she completed her first full track season in 2005. Madeleine is undertaking international studies at RMIT.

Sporting Career

2005 – Won the U23 800m national title.

2006 – Foot injury and a stress fracture in her back. At the end of the year Madeleine finished a narrow second to Tamsyn Lewis at the Telstra Zatopek Classic with a time of 2.05.38.

2007 – A series of strong runs at the A Series in Canberra (2.02.89), Sydney (2.03.40) and at the Australian championships (2.01.50). At the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University in California, Madeleine won in 2.01.17, a world championships B-qualifying time. Madeleine was selected in the Australian team for the World University Games but was forced to withdraw with a stress fracture in her right foot.

2008 – A speedy recovery saw Madeleine return to form and in 2008 at the Sydney Grand Prix both Madeleine (1:59.92) and Tamsyn Lewis (1:59.59) broke the two-minute barrier. She ran second to Lewis in a time of 2:02.12 at the nationals and was selected for her first Olympics where she placed sixth in her heat (2.03.09) in a tactical race, failing to progress.

2009 – Wins over 800m in Hobart and at the Sydney Track Classic launched Madeleine’s 2009 campaign and were followed by a fourth place in the 400m at World Athletics Tour in Melbourne. In March she finished third in the 400m and took out the two-lap event, securing her first national crown.Not content with her first Australian title, Madeleine went on to win her first international title at the World university Games in Belgrade, Serbia, in July. A dominant performance in the 800m saw her take the lead after 300m and never look back, crossing the line in 2:01.91 to claim her first overseas honours and push her case for selection to the event in Berlin.