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
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
| 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
- ^ 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.