Michelle Finn (steeplechaser)

Finn grew up in Castlemagner.^[3] She was born 16 December 1989 to Mary and Toddy Finn.^[4]

Finn was a four-year scholarship athlete for Western Kentucky University,^[5] majoring in communications.^[6] She received a master's degree in nutrition.^[7] She also spent two years at the University of Limerick.^[8]

Finn placed second at the GloHealth Cross-country Championships which qualified her to compete for Ireland in the 2014 European Cross Country Championships held in Bulgaria.^[9] The team won a bronze medal and she placed 23rd in the event.^[4]

She qualified for the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Summer Olympics after running a 9:43.34 at the 2015 Letterkenny AC International.^[10] Finn finished the 2015 World Championships 3000m steeplechase in 9:55.27 for ninth in her heat. She did not advance to the finals.^[11]

Finn ran the 3000m steeplechase at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. She passed three competitors during the final stretch to come in 11th with a time of 9:49.45.^[12][13] She had the 39th fastest time in the heats and did not advance to the finals.^[14]

In February 2018, Finn suffered a stress fracture in her foot and had to modify her training schedule to accommodate it.^[15] To qualify for the European Championships, Finn needed to run under 9:55 in two qualifying events. On 18 July she finished a race in France with 9:51.43, leaving one more time to qualify for the European Championships. On the first water jump in a race on 25 July Finn landed awkwardly and sprained her ankle. She considered dropping out of the race but pressed on and finished in 9:56.03, just over the time required for the B qualification standard. With her last chance to qualify four days later and with her doctor's approval, she raced at the Irish Athletics Championships, finishing with a time of 9:46.19.^[16] In the 2018 European Championships she finished 16th in her heat with a time of 10:10.93.^[17]

She qualified for the 2019 World Championships in Qatar. She finished ninth in her heat with a time of 9:47.44, saying that her time was affected by misjudging the first barrier.^[18] In July 2019, Finn set a PB of 9:41.23 during a race in Finland.^[19] Finn won the Sydney Track Classic and set a new personal best time of 9:38.04.^[20] Finn, who joined the Melbourne Track Club in January 2020, is training for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.^[21]