Eleanor Patterson
Eleanor Patterson is an Australian track and field athlete and a High Jump World Champion, holding the former Australian record of 2.02m.
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Eleanor began competing in high jump at eight-years-of-age after accompanying her friend to Little Athletics, instantly falling in love with the sport. She grew up in the South Gippsland Shire town of Leongatha, located 135km south-east of Melbourne, with a population of just 5000.
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By 13-years-old, Eleanor's journey was well and truly underway, winning national high jump titles. She won gold at the 2013 World Youth (U18) Championship in Ukraine and later that year broke the World U18 record, clearing 1.96m. Her amazing run continued with gold at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games while completing her final year of schooling, with a clearance of 1.94m.
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In 2015 at the Beijing World Championships, Eleanor became the first Australian female in 24 years to reach the high jump final at a World Championships.
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Eleanor made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics and cleared 1.89m, but unfortunately missed qualification for the final.
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In 2017, Eleanor declined selection for the World Championships and took some time away from the sport. She returned to the sport in 2019 and then in 2020, set a new Australian record, jumping 1.99m in New Zealand. Eleanor also set a new Oceania Indoor record, jumping 2.00 in Belgrade in 2022.
Eleanor remarkably recovered from a fractured foot to claim Silver at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest and qualified for the Paris Olympics at the Australian Athletics Championships in Adelaide, which was her second appearance at the Olympics, where she claimed the Bronze medal.