Gabriela DeBues-Stafford

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Gabriela DeBues-Stafford
Women's 1500m final at 2019 World Athletics Championships 1.jpg
De-Bues Stafford in the 1500 m final at the 2019 World Athletics Championships
Personal information
Born (1995-09-13) 13 September 1995 (age 28)
London, Ontario, Canada [1]
Education University of Toronto [2]
Employer Nike
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) [1]
SpouseRowan DeBues-Stafford (m. 2019)
Sport
Country Canada
Sport Athletics/track
Event(s) Middle-, Long-distance running
University team Varsity Blues
Coached byTrent & Hilary Stellingwerff
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Athletics
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
NACAC Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Toronto 1500 m
Summer Universiade
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Gwangju 1500 m
Updated on 6 February 2022

Gabriela Maria DeBues-Stafford (née Stafford, born 13 September 1995) [3] is a Canadian middle- and long-distance runner. A two-time Olympian, she placed fifth in the women's 1500 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. DeBues-Stafford holds the NACAC area record over the indoor 5000 metres, which she set in February 2022.

Contents

She holds six Canadian national outdoor and indoor records over distances from the 1500 to 5000 metres. In addition, she won a silver medal at the 2015 Summer Universiade.

Career

Early career

DeBues-Stafford was born in London, Ontario and grew up in Toronto. [1] [4] Her father James Stafford was a former competitive runner and represented Canada at four World Cross Country Championships. [2] She and her younger sister Lucia initially trained in competitive Irish dancing, but DeBues-Stafford switched to running, subsequently joined by Lucia to spend more time with her father and sister. Both sisters were diagnosed with Graves' disease as teenagers, though DeBues-Stafford's case would prove more manageable than Lucia's in the years ahead, hindering the latter's athletics career. [4]

In Grade 12, DeBues-Stafford won the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations' cross country running championship. [4] She was subsequently accepted to study psychology at the University of Toronto's Victoria College, during which time she competed for the Varsity Blues athletics squad. [5] Appearing at a senior international championship for the first time, DeBues-Stafford won the silver medal in the women's 1500 m event at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju.

2016–21

DeBues-Stafford competing in the women's 1500 m at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland, finishing twelfth in the heats and thus not advancing to the event final. In July 2016, she was officially named to Canada's Olympic team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. [6] She placed ninth in her heat of the women's 1500 m event, and twenty-fifth overall, and thus did not advance to the semi-final phase of the competition. [7]

The following year, she made her World Athletics Championships debut at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics, where she placed twenty-first in the semi-finals of the 1500 m and did not advance.

In a series of championships appearances in 2018, DeBues-Stafford competed for Canada at the World Indoor Championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games, in neither case advancing past the heats. At the 2018 NACAC Championships in Toronto she won the bronze medal with a time of 4:07.36. While competing at the British Grand Prix on the 2018 Diamond League, she met coach Andy Young and, following discussions, agreed to move to train in Glasgow, where Young's other students included Laura Muir. [8]

DeBues-Stafford enjoyed a strong 2019, breaking the national records for the indoor mile and 5,000 metres and the outdoor 1,500 metre, mile and 5,000 metre records. She would go on to add the indoor 1,500 metre record in 2020. [9] Making her second Worlds appearance at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, she advanced to the final in the women's 1500 m event and placed sixth with a time of 3:56.12. [5] In doing so, she achieved her previously stated goal of running in the final in a time under four minutes. [8] She remarked afterward that "I really believed I had a chance at a medal, even 200 meters from the finish," but that "once I was into the homestretch, I knew I didn't have it." Following this, she moved to train at Portland's Bowerman Track Club under Shalane Flanagan. [10]

With the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the 2020 Summer Olympics by a year, DeBues-Stafford continued to train with a focus on strength and endurance work. As the 2021 season started, she broke the 1 minute 59 seconds barrier at the Portland Track Festival's 800 metres event, becoming one of only three women in the world who have run under 1:59 in the 800 metres, 3:57 in the 1500 metres, and 14:45 in the 5000 metres. [11] She was again named to the Canadian Olympic team, this time alongside her sister Lucia. Both competed in the women's 1500 m event in Tokyo, with Gabriela advancing to the event final while Lucia finished thirteenth in the semi-finals, narrowly missing being amongst the final twelve. [12] She placed fifth in the Olympic final. [13]

2022–present

On 11 February 2022, at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston, DeBues-Stafford broke the North, Central American and Caribbean record in the indoor 5000 metres with a time of 14m 31.38s, improving the mark set by USA's Shalane Flanagan in 2009 by more than 15 seconds. [14] In her first championship appearance of the year at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, she finished fourth in the 3000 m, narrowly missing the podium. [15]

In April 2022, DeBues-Stafford announced that she was relocating from Portland to Victoria, citing the ongoing doping controversy around former training partner Shelby Houlihan as having been detrimental to her preparations for the Tokyo Olympics. [16] Due to developing a stress reaction in her sacrum, she was forced to end her season prematurely, foregoing both the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2022 World Athletics Championships. [17] Her recovery continued through the 2023 athletics season. [18]

Personal life

The daughter of James Stafford and Maria Luisa Gardner, DeBues-Stafford has a younger brother, Nicholas, and her sister Lucia. Her mother passed away due to leukemia when she was 13. [4] Both Gabriela and Lucia are trilingual, speaking English, French and Spanish. [19]

DeBues-Stafford is bisexual. [10] She dyed her hair in rainbow colours for the 2021 athletic season due to their association with the LGBT community. [20] She met her husband, Rowan DeBues while moving into her dormitory at the University of Toronto. They married in 2019, each taking on hyphenate surnames. [10]

Competition record

Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2013 Pan American Junior Championships Medellín, Colombia 8th1500 m4:53.35
2014 World Junior Championships Eugene, United States 9th3000 m 9:14.97
2015 Universiade Gwangju, South Korea 2nd1500 m 4:19.27
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 12th (h)1500 m 4:11.46
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 25th (h)1500 m 4:09.45
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 21st (sf)1500 m 4:08.51
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 13th (h)1500 m 4:09.94
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 14th (h)1500 m 4:09.59
NACAC Championships Toronto, Canada 3rd1500 m 4:07.36
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 6th1500 m 3:56.12
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 5th1500 m 3:58.93
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 4th3000 m 8:42.89

Personal bests

Outdoor

Indoor

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonia O'Sullivan</span> Irish runner (born 1969)

Sonia O'Sullivan is an Irish former track and field athlete. She won a gold medal in the 5000 metres at the 1995 World Championships, and a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 2000 Olympic Games. Her 2000 m world record of 5:25.36, set in 1994 stood until 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lidia Chojecka</span> Polish middle-distance runner

Lidia Chojecka-Leandro is a retired Polish middle- and long-distance runner who mainly competed in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres. She won bronze medals in the 1500 m at the 1997 and 1999 World Indoor Championships, and for the 3000 m at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. Chojecka is a six-time European Indoor Championships medallist in the 1500 m and 3000 m events, earning three golds and three silvers. She took the double at the 2007 European Indoor Championships, becoming the first runner, male or female, to win both events at the same championships. She had been one of the most consistent middle-distance runners in Europe throughout the 1990s, and finished fifth and sixth in back-to-back Olympic 1500 m finals in 2000 and 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genzebe Dibaba</span> Ethiopian middle and long-distance runner

Genzebe Dibaba Keneni is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. A 1,500 metres 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, she won a gold medal in this event and a bronze in the 5,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the indoor events of the one mile, 3,000m and 5,000m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellen Obiri</span> Kenyan middle-distance runner

Hellen Onsando Obiri is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. She is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country. Obiri is a two-time Olympic 5,000 metres silver medallist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000 metres. She is a two-time world champion after winning the 5,000 m in 2017 and again in 2019, when she set a new championship record. Obiri also took world bronze for the 1,500 metres in 2013 and silver in the 10,000 m in 2022. She won the 3,000 metres race at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, claimed silver in 2014, and placed fourth in 2018. She is the 2019 World Cross Country champion. Obiri triumphed in the 2023 Boston Marathon, her second marathon race. She places fifth in the half marathon on the world all-time list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luiza Gega</span> Albanian middle-distance runner

Luiza Gega is an Albanian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase since 2016. She won the silver medal in the event at the 2016 European Championships, and a gold in 2022 setting the championship record in the process. Her silver was the first ever Albania’s European medal, while her gold was the first ever title for the country at the European Athletics Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sifan Hassan</span> Dutch middle- and long-distance runner (born 1993)

Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second woman to complete an Olympic distance double.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gudaf Tsegay</span> Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner

Gudaf Tsegay Desta is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She is the current women’s world record holder for 5,000 m (14:00.21), set at the 2023 final Diamond League event, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene is also where she won the World Athletics Championships on 5,000 m in 2022. At the World Athletics Championships, Tsegay also won the gold medal for 10,000 metres in 2023; a bronze for the 1,500 metres in 2019, and silver in 2022. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist in the women's 5,000 metres. She is a two-time World Indoor Championship 1,500 m medallist, claiming bronze in 2016 and gold in 2022. She is also the world indoor record holder for the 1,500 m, setting previously in this event world under-18 (current) and U20 (former) records.

Kate Van Buskirk is a Canadian Olympian, cross-country and track runner, with 18 years National Team experience. She won bronze for Canada at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 1500 m. She was named as an Athlete Director of Athletics Canada, in August 2019. She continues in this role as of August 2020.

Erin Teschuk is a Canadian middle- and long-distance runner. She represented her country at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, and the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Collegiately, she competed for the North Dakota State Bison where she was a 15-time Summit League champion and 7-time All-American.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natasha Wodak</span> Canadian long-distance runner

Natasha Wodak is a Canadian long-distance runner. She competed in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, placing 23rd. Wodak formerly held the Canadian 10,000m record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciara Mageean</span> Irish middle-distance runner

Ciara Mageean is a middle-distance runner from Portaferry in Northern Ireland who specialises in the 1500 metres. She is the 2024 European Athletics Championships gold medalist at the distance, the first individual Irish European champion since Sonia O'Sullivan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konstanze Klosterhalfen</span> German athlete (born 1997)

Konstanze "Koko" Klosterhalfen is a German middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2019 World Championship bronze medallist and 2022 European champion in the 5000 metres, becoming the first German medalist of the event at the World Athletics Championships and the first German winner of the event at the European Athletics Championships. At the European Indoor Championships, Klosterhalfen won silver medals for the 1500 metres in 2017 and the 3000 metres in 2019 and 2023. She took four individual medals at the European Cross Country Championships. In February 2020, she set a European indoor record in the 5000 m with 14:30.79, the fourth fastest time ever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanna Klein</span> German middle-distance runner

Hanna Klein is a German middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 3000 metres at the 2023 European Indoor Championships and bronze for the 1500 metres at the 2021 European Indoor Championships. Klein finished fifth in the 1500 m at the 2022 European Championships. She took gold for the 5000 metres at the 2017 Universiade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 1500 metres</span> Olympic athletics event

The women's 1500 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 2 to 6 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 45 athletes from 25 nations competed. Kenya's Faith Kipyegon successfully defended her Olympic title, to become one of only two women, along with Tatyana Kazankina, to win two Olympic 1500 metres titles. Her winning time of 3:53.11, broke Paula Ivan's 33-year-old Olympic record. The silver medal went to Great Britain's Laura Muir and the bronze went to Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadia Battocletti</span> Italian long-distance runner (born 2000)

Nadia Battocletti is an Italian female middle- and long-distance runner European champion of the 5000 m and 10000 m in Roma 2024.

Freweyni Hailu is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner. She won the gold medal at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships over 1500 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elise Cranny</span> American middle and long-distance runner

Elise Cranny is an American middle and long-distance runner. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is a four-time national champion and holds the American record in the indoor 5000 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucia Stafford</span> Canadian runner (b. 1998)

Lucia Stafford is a Canadian athlete specializing in middle-distance running. She is the 2017 Pan American U20 champion in the women's 1500 metres, and competed for Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Stafford is the North American indoor record holder for the 1000 metres.

The women's 3000 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships took place on 18 March 2022.

Simone Plourde is a Canadian middle distance runner who competes in the 1500 m. From 2021 to 2023, she competed for the Utah Utes, before signing professionally with Nike and joining the Union Athletics Club in 2023. She also represented Canada at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "2018 CWG bio" . Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 College team bio
  3. ↑ "Gabriela Stafford". IAAF. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Scace, Matt (23 July 2021). "How the Stafford sisters turned a wee sibling rivalry into two Olympic track careers". The National Post . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 Zulak, Alexa (6 December 2019). "After studying women role models, Tokyo 2020 hopeful Gabriela DeBues-Stafford became one herself". U of T News. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  6. ↑ Hossain, Asif (11 July 2016). "Athletics Canada nominates largest squad to Team Canada for Rio". Canadian Olympic Committee . Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Weisfeld, Oren (1 August 2021). "Lucia Stafford is 'super proud' to be an Olympian — like the 'superheroes' she used to admire". The Toronto Star . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  8. 1 2 Kelly, Madeleine (7 January 2019). "Gabriela Stafford is moving across the world". Canadian Running. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "Progression NR 5000 metres Canada - run123". Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 Webb, Karleigh (20 July 2021). "Canada's Gabriela DeBues-Stafford boldly pursues her Olympic goal, out and queer". Out Sports. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "DeBues-Stafford runs 800 metres in under 2 minutes in latest Olympic standard feat". CBC Sports . 30 May 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Harrison, Doug (4 August 2021). "Gabriela DeBues-Stafford to run for Olympic gold medal in 1,500 metres". CBC Sports . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  13. ↑ Hambleton, Brittany (6 August 2021). "Kipyegon outkicks Hassan for Olympic 1,500m gold, sets Olympic record". Canadian Running. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  14. ↑ Dickinson, Marley (11 February 2022). "Canada's Gabriela DeBues-Stafford breaks North American 5,000m record". RunningMagazine.ca. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  15. ↑ Dickinson, Marley (18 March 2022). "Gabriela DeBues-Stafford finishes fourth in 3,000m". Canadian Running. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Ewing, Lori (12 April 2022). "Canadian runner DeBues-Stafford leaves training centre over Houlihan burrito case". CBC Sports . Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "Canadian runner DeBues-Stafford forced to shut down season due to injury". CBC Sports . 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  18. ↑ Ewing, Lori (2 February 2023). "Lucia Stafford finding success on the track back in Toronto with longtime coach". The Globe & Mail . Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  19. ↑ Kelly, Madeleine (23 June 2021). "The best sister in the world". Canadian Running. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  20. ↑ Zeigler, Cyd (6 August 2021). "Gabriela Debues-Stafford's hair embraced the LGBTQ community despite Olympic rules". Outsports. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.