Sonia Lannaman

Sonia Lannaman (born 24 March, 1956) is a British athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres.

She competed in her first Olympics in 1972 (held in Munich) where she set a British junior record of 11.45 sec. In 1973 she became European junior champion winning gold in the 100 metres followed by a bronze in the 4 x 100 metres relay. In the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch she won a silver medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay.

In 1976 she won a silver medal at 60 metres at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Munich. In the summer of that year she made a major breakthorough into world class sprinting. She ran the 100 metres in an unofficial wind assisted 10.8 sec and set a British record in the 200 metres. She was strongly tipped for medals in both sprints at the 1976 Montreal Olympics but sadly due to injury was unable to compete.

In 1977 she was ranked second only to world record holder Marlies Gohr in the 100 metres. In the European Cup of that year was second in both the 100 and 200 metres and in the inaugural World Cup, second again in the 100 metres and first in the 4 x 100 metres representing Europe. She also ran the fastest ever electronically timed 100 metres by a British woman of 10.93 sec.

In 1978 she won the 100 metres gold medal and 200 metres silver medal in the 1978 Commonwealth Games for England and for Great Britain in the European Championships won a silver in the 4 x 100 metres with team mates Kathy Smallwood-Cook, Beverley Goddard and Sharon Colyear. In 1980 she ran her fastest official time in the 100 metres of 11.20 sec and set a another British record in the 200 metres of 22.58 sec. She competed again for Great Britain again in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, Russia in the 4 x 100 metres where she won the bronze medal with her team mates Heather Hunte, Kathy Smallwood-Cook and Beverley Goddard.

In 1982 she competed in her third Commonwealth Games winning a gold in the 4 x 100 metres.

She currently lives in the village of Chorley in Staffordshire.

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