Philippa Roles
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (Welsh) |
| Born | 1 March 1978 Neath, Wales |
| Died | 22 May 2017 (aged 39) Catford, Lewisham, England |
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 98 kg (216 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | discus throw |
| Club | Swansea Harriers Sale Harriers Manchester |
Philippa Kate Roles (1 March 1978 – 21 May 2017) was a Welsh discus thrower who competed at two Olympic and four Commonwealth Games. Roles was British junior athlete of the year – an honour presented at Buckingham Palace. She was the first British discus thrower to medal at junior European level; and narrowly missed out on a medal at under 23 level, finishing 4th. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Biography
[edit]Born in Neath, she studied at Neath Port Talbot College from where she gained her degree, and was resident in London. Roles worked for the train operating company Southern as a train driver on services in South London. She represented Swansea Harriers at club level. Proudly Welsh, she was a popular member of Team Wales and Team GB due to her sense of humour and self-deprecating manner.[1]
Roles was a five-times British discus throw champion after winning the British AAA Championships title in 2002,[2] 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.[3][4]
Her personal best throw was 62.89 metres, achieved in June 2003 in Loughborough. This placed her third on the British outdoor all-time list, behind Meg Ritchie and Venissa Head. It also ranked her in the World top 20.[5]
Roles competed in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, in Manchester in 2002, in Melbourne, Australia in 2006 and Delhi in 2010. She competed in two Olympics - in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008.[6][7]
On 16 July 2008, Roles appeared as Jonny Saunders' guest in the feature "Who's in the Locker, Cocker?" on Chris Evans Drivetime on BBC Radio 2.[8]
Roles died suddenly and unexpectedly on 21 May 2017 aged 39.[9][10]
International competitions
[edit]| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Great Britain and  Wales
| ||||
| 1995 | European Junior Championships | Nyíregyháza, Hungary | 12th | 44.84 m |
| 1996 | World Junior Championships | Sydney, Australia | 16th (q) | 46.48 m |
| 1997 | European Junior Championships | Ljubljana, Slovenia | 3rd | 50.62 m |
| 1998 | Commonwealth Games | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 6th | 54.10 m |
| 1999 | Universiade | Palma de Mallorca, Spain | 15th (q) | 54.82 m |
| European U23 Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 4th | 55.37 m | |
| 2001 | Universiade | Beijing, China | 6th | 55.02 m |
| 2002 | Commonwealth Games | Manchester, England | 4th | 57.65 m |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 18th (q) | 58.83 m |
| 2006 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne, Australia | 6th | 58.38 m |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 27th (q) | 57.44 m |
| 2010 | Commonwealth Games | Delhi, India | 4th | 57.99 m |
References
[edit]- ^ Skeels, Robert (19 June 2008). "Athletics: Euro role for Philippa". Neath Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ "Weekend results - Athletics". The Scotsman. 15 July 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
- ^ "AAA Championships (women)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
- ^ "UK All-Time Lists: Women - Throws". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ "Welsh Olympian dies at the age of 39".
- ^ Doel, Jon (22 May 2017). "Welsh Olympian Philippa Roles dies at the age of 39". Wales Online. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ "Philippa Roles, Welsh discus thrower, Died at 39 – History's Greatest". Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ "Welsh discus thrower Roles, 39, dies". BBC Sport. 22 May 2017.
- ^ "ROLES Philippa : Obituary, South Wales Evening Post". bmdsonline.iannounce.mobi. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
External links
[edit]
- 1978 births
- 2017 deaths
- Sportspeople from Neath
- Welsh female discus throwers
- British female discus throwers
- Olympic female discus throwers
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
- British Athletics Championships winners
- Swansea Harriers Athletics Club
- People educated at Neath Port Talbot College