Sophie McKinna explained
Sophie McKinna (born 31 August 1994) is a British Olympic athlete specialising in the shot put. She won silver medals at the 2011 World Youth Championships and 2013 European Junior Championships.
Her indoor personal best is 18.82 metres (Birmingham 2022). At the 2019 World Championships in Doha she threw a new outdoor personal best of 18.61m to qualify for the final.[3] By throwing over the 18.50m required she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. She competed in the event, throwing 17.81m in the qualifying round to finish in 17th place.
Domestically, as of 2023 McKinna is a six-time national champion, winning both indoors and outdoors in 2019, outdoors again in 2020 and 2021, and indoors in 2022 and 2023
She is the granddaughter of the former Norwich City footballer and manager Dave Stringer.[4] McKinna works for Norfolk Constabulary as a detention custody officer.[5]
International competitions
| Representing and |
|---|
| 2010 | Youth Olympic Games | Singapore | 5th | Shot put | 15.14 m |
| 2011 | World Youth Championships | Lille, France | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Shot put | 14.90 m |
| Commonwealth Youth Games | Douglas, Isle of Man | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Shot put | 14.75 m |
| 2012 | World Junior Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 6th | Shot put | 15.98 m |
| 2013 | European Cup Winter Throwing (U23) | Castellón, Spain | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Shot put | 16.09 m |
| European Junior Championships | Rieti, Italy | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Shot put | 17.09 m |
| 2014 | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 5th | Shot put | 16.59 m |
| 2015 | European U23 Championships | Tallinn, Estonia | 9th | Shot put | 15.68 m |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 5th | Shot put | 17.76 m |
| European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 7th | Shot put | 17.69 m |
| 2019 | European Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 10th (q) | Shot put | 17.18 m |
| European Team Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 3rd | Shot put | 17.94 m |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 11th | Shot put | 17.99 m |
| 2021 | European Indoor Championships | Toruń, Poland | 9th (q) | Shot put | 17.95 m |
| Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 17th (q) | Shot put | 17.81 m |
| 2022 | World Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 8th | Shot put | 18.62 m |
| World Championships | Eugene, United States | 23rd (q) | Shot put | 17.21 m |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 12th | Shot put | 16.29 m | |
Personal life
McKinna comes from Bradwell, Norfolk.[6] She is openly lesbian.[7]
After sustaining an injury in early 2024, McKinna began working at a Dogs Trust centre in Snetterton.
Notes and References
- Web site: Team England bio . 9 October 2018.
- Web site: Power of 10 profile . 9 October 2018.
- News: BBC Live Athletics. BBC Sport . October 2019 .
- Web site: Sophie's choice to be golden shot . . 14 August 2010 . Alan Hubbard.
- Web site: Great Britain shot putter Sophie McKinna says Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualification is a 'dream' . Sarah Dawkins . 15 October 2019 . 10 July 2022 . Sky Sports News.
- Web site: Maclean . Jack . Gordon-Farleigh . Neve. Animal rescue career is dream for former Olympian . . 15 August 2024 . 4 August 2024.
- Web site: Hinman . Ali . 1 May 2023 . British Champion Shot Putter Sophie McKinna Comes Out As A Lesbian - GO Magazine . 10 July 2023 . gomag.com . en-US.
