Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality | Australian |
Born | Stony Creek, Victoria, Australia | 5 May 1986
Height | 172 cm (68 in) (2012) |
Weight | 52 kg (115 lb) (2012) |
Sport | |
Country | Australia |
Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | 800 metres 1500 metres One Mile 3000 metres 5000 metres |
Kaila McKnight (born 5 May 1986) is an Australian middle distance runner. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres event.
McKnight was born on 5 May 1986 [1] [2] [3] in Stony Creek [2] near Foster, Victoria [2] and is from Victoria. [2] [3] She attended St Laurence's Catholic Primary School in Victoria before going to Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College for high school. [3] She then went to Deakin University from 2007 to 2009 where she earned a Bachelor of Commerce. [3] As of 2017 [update] , she is a teacher [2] an accountant [4] and married. As of 2012 [update] , she lives in the Victorian [2] town of Leongatha. [3]
McKnight is 172 centimetres (68 in) tall and weighs 52 kilograms (115 lb). [3]
McKnight is a middle-distance runner [2] [3] and is coached by Nic Bideau, [2] [3] who became her coach in 2009. [3] She is also coached by Richard Huggins who became her coach in 1998. [3] She is a member of the Knox Athletics Club. [3] Her events are the 800 metres, 1500 metres, One Mile, 3000 metres, and 5000 metres. [1] [2]
McKnight has an athletics scholarship from the Victorian Institute of Sport. [2] [3] [4] She does most of her training in Melbourne and London. [3] Running for the national team, she wears number 53. [2]
Her personal best time in the 800 metres is 2:04.04 set in Liége, Belgium on 13 July 2010. [2] Her personal best time in the 1500 metres is 4:05.61 set in Shanghai on 19 May 2012. [1] [2] Her personal best time in the one mile is 4:33.33 set in Cork, Ireland on 17 July 2012. [1] [2] Her personal best time in the 3000 metres is 8:58.46 set in Newcastle, Australia on 29 January 2011. [1] Her personal best time in the 5000 metres is 15:33.77 set in Rovereto on 13 September 2011. [1]
At the 2009 Australian National Championships in the 1500 metres, she finished second. [2] [3] [4] At the 2009 World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, she finished second in the 1500 metres event with a time of 4:16:10. [2] [4] At the 2010 Australian National Championships in the 1500 metres, she finished first. [2] [3] [4] At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she finished fifth in her heats in the 1500 metres event with a time of 4:15.22. [2] [3] At the IAAF/VTB Bank Continental Cup 2010 on 5 September in the 1500 metres race, she finished ninth with a time of 4:27.40. [1] At the IAAF/VTB Bank Continental Cup 2010 on 4 September in the 3000 metres race, she finished ninth with a time of 9:24.50. [1] She competed at the 2010 International Sotteville Meeting in France in the 1500 metres event, where she set a personal best. [3] At the 2011 Australian National Championships in the 1500 metres, she finished second. [2] At the 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu on 30 August 2011 in the 1500 metres race, she finished tenth with a time of 4:10.83. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] At the 39th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbría on 20 March 2011 in the senior race, she finished 69th with a time of 27:59. [1]
Prior to the Australian Olympic qualification period, McKnight spent three months competing overseas. [6] At the 2012 Australian National Championships in the 1500 metres, she finished first and first in the 5000 metres event. [2] [4] [6] [ clarification needed ]
McKnight was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres event, where she made her Olympic debut. [3] [7] [8] [9]
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she reached the semi-finals of the 1500 metres but was eliminated there. [10]
She competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, reaching the final. [11]