Madeleine was, in athletics terms, a late starter but has made considerable ground in the last 12 months.
With an A qualifier on the board, Madeleine was in good shape coming into the National Championships. She ran 2nd to Tamsyn in a time of 2:02.12, and was given nomination to the Australian Olympic Committee for selection into the Australian team for the 2008 Olympic Games.
AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:
400 metres: 2005 - 7th (U23)
800 metres: 2005 - 1st (U23), 2007 - 2nd, 2008 - 2nd
ANNUAL PROGRESSION:
400 metres:
2004 56.36
2005 56.10
2006 55.71
2007 53.56
2008 53.68
800 metres:
2004 2.09.82
2005 2.08.00
2006 2.05.38
2007 2.01.17
2008 1.59.92
EVENTS/PERSONAL BESTS:
400 metres: 53.56 - Melbourne, 1/03/07
800 metres: 1.59.92 - Sydney, 16/02/08
Madeleine was, in athletics terms, a late starter but has made considerable ground in the last 12 months. In 2004, when she was only committed to athletics part-time, her personal bests for the 400m and 800m were 56.36 and 2.09.82 respectively.
In 2005, those marks improved marginally, however, commitment to her development saw Madeleine win the under-23 800m title that year.
A foot injury and a stress fracture in her back encouraged Madeleine to travel, once recovered, to Europe mid-2006 where she competed in some low-key meets before returning home.
It brought a larger improvement in the 800m, albeit at the end of the year, when Madeleine finished a narrow second to Tamsyn Lewis at the Telstra Zatopek Classic with a time of 2.05.38. Less than two weeks earlier, at the Ron Clarke Classic, she had turned in a 2.10.89 win.
So began a significant transformation that saw her post a series of strong runs at the A Series in Canberra (2.02.89), Sydney (2.03.40) and at the 2007 Australian Championships in Brisbane (2.01.50). That race she again finished second to Lewis.
However, the best was yet to come; at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University in California, Madeleine won in 2.01.17, a World Championships B qualifying time. It followed a win over 800m at the Mt Sac Relays in Walnut, California plus second places at the Oregon Invitational and the Modesto Relays to conclude a tour of the USA’s west coast.
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.
A speedy recovery saw Madeleine return to form and in 2008 at the Sydney Athletics Grand Prix, fans were treated to something special when both Madeleine (1:59.92) and Tamsyn (1:59.59) broke the 2 minute barrier. With an A qualifier on the board, Madeleine was in good shape coming into the National Championships. She ran second to Tamsyn in a time of 2:02.12, and was given nomination to the Australian Olympic Committee for selection into the Australian team for the 2008 Olympic Games.