Sonia Lawrence

Last updated

Sonia Lawrence
Personal information
NationalityBritish (Welsh)
Born (1980-01-19) 19 January 1980 (age 45)
Caerphilly, Wales
Height163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Weight52 kg (115 lb)
Sport
Sport Gymnastics / Athletics
Event(s)floor, horse, uneven bars, beam / pole vault
ClubSpelthorne Gymnastics Club
Medal record
Representing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1994 Victoria vault

Sonia Lawrence (born 19 January 1980) is a British gymnast and later pole vaulter, who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics. [1]

Contents

Biography

Lawrence grew up in Bedwas and joined the Heol Ddu Gymnastics Club in Bargoed at a young age. At the age of 12 Lawrence moved to Staines near London in order to gain full-time coaching. [2]

After gaining selection for the British Squad, she went to a Pre-Olympic Camp and also represented Wales at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, where she won a silver medal in the vault. [2] At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Lawrence represented Great Britain in five events. [3] Injury problems hampered her ability to compete for medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before retiring from gymnastics at the age of just 16. [2]

Lawrence took up pole vault and her greatest achievement was finishing third behind Tracey Bloomfield in the pole vault event at the 2003 AAA Championships. [4] [5] [6]

References

  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sonia Lawrence Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Interview with the gymnast Sonia Lawrence". People's Collection Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  3. "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  4. "Athletics" . Aberdeen Press and Journal. 28 July 2003. Retrieved 6 April 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  6. "AAA Championships (women)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 6 April 2025.