Track And Field, Athlete, 2015 |
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Born in Denmark, Townsend would make her mark in track and field. Holding various Canadian records in seven different events, the five-foot-10 Simon Fraser University athlete turned her focus on the middle distances, where she secured her spot on the national team.
Townsend captured the women’s 1500-metre bronze at the 1983 Pan American Games with a personal best time of 4:03.36. From there she represented Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, placing seventh.
She qualified to compete at the 1988 Olympics as well, but was unable to attend due to injury.
Over the past 20 years she has guided the next level of national and international champions as the track and field coach at Simon Fraser University, with athletes achieving excellence at the national, NAIA and international stages, including for Canada.