From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American heptathlete
Diana Lynn Pickler
(born December 9, 1983) is an
American
heptathlete
from
Shreveport, Louisiana
. She has represented her country at the
Olympic
and
World Championship
levels and was the 2009 US heptathlon champion. Her twin sister,
Julie Pickler
, is also a
track and field
athlete.
Career
[
edit
]
Spending her amateur career with
Washington State University
, she won her first major national honours in 2001, taking the national junior championship in the
heptathlon
.
Track and Field News
rated her as the country's top junior heptathlete that year.
[1]
She represented the United States at the
2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics
but finished in 15th place with 4539 points, well below her season's best of 5365.
[2]
The 2003 and 2004 seasons were uneventful but she matured as a senior athlete the following two seasons, taking sixth place in the
NCAA
championships in 2005 and improving to third place in 2006. She also finished fifth at the national outdoor championships that year. The 2007 season represented a significant progression: her personal best reached over 6000 points for the first time and she was ranked as the number one American heptathlete by
Track and Field News
. She was runner-up at the national outdoor championships, and also runner-up in the indoor championships in the
pentathlon
. She was part of the American team for the
2007 World Championships
and, although she finished 25th, it was the best performance by an American in the event.
[1]
[2]
After taking third at the 2008 Olympic trials with a personal best of 6,257 points, she represented the
United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics
. However, she strained her hamstring in the first event (
100 meter hurdles
) and failed to finish the competition.
[1]
[2]
At the 2009 national championships, an injury to the favourite
Hyleas Fountain
resulted in Pickler's first senior national title. She took first place with event bests in the
800 meters
and
shot put
, and a personal heptathlon best of 6290 points, finishing ahead of
Sharon Day
and
Bettie Wade
.
[3]
Other appearances
[
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]
Pickler appeared at the 7th
KUNOICHI
competition (known in the US as
Women of Ninja Warrior
) in the summer of 2007, but failed on the Log Jam in the first stage when her foot hit the water as she tried to climb back onto a log after losing her balance.
Statistics
[
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]
Personal bests
[
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]
Event
|
Best
|
Venue
|
Year
|
Notes
|
100 meter hurdles
|
13.25 secs
|
Sacramento, California
, United States
|
June 7, 2007
|
|
High jump
|
1.84 m
|
Austin, Texas
, United States
|
April 4, 2007
|
|
Shot put
|
13.49 m
|
Eugene, Oregon
, United States
|
June 27, 2009
|
|
200 meters
|
24.07 secs
|
Indianapolis, Indiana
, United States
|
June 21, 2007
|
|
Long jump
|
6.36 m
|
Desenzano
, Italy
|
May 11, 2008
|
|
Javelin
|
44.03 m
|
Palo Alto, California
, United States
|
May 6, 2007
|
|
800 meters
|
2:16.59 mins
|
Eugene, Oregon
, United States
|
June 28, 2009
|
|
Heptathlon
|
6257 pts
|
Eugene, Oregon
, United States
|
June 28, 2009
|
|
- All information taken from IAAF profile.
[2]
Competition record
[
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]
KUNOICHI record
[
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]
- 7th competition (99) - Failed Log Jam - First Stage
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
|
---|
1950?1979
Amateur Athletic Union
| |
---|
1980?1992
The Athletics Congress
| |
---|
1993-onwards
USA Track & Field
| |
---|
Notes
|
- Since 1992 the championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT
: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
.
|
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|
---|
Qualification
| | |
---|
Men's track
and road athletes
| |
---|
Men's
field athletes
| |
---|
Women's track
and road athletes
| |
---|
Women's
field athletes
| |
---|
Coaches
| |
---|