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.
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.
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.
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.
She was 5 ft 10 inches tall and weighed 88 kg.
Roles died suddenly and unexpectedly on 21 May 2017 aged 39.
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.
- UK All-Time Lists: Women - Throws - GBR Athletics
- "Welsh discus thrower Roles, 39, dies". BBC Sport. 22 May 2017.
- Roles Philippa: Obituary
External links
| British Athletics Championships women's discus throw champions | |
|---|---|
|
 | This biographical article relating to Welsh athletics is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- 1978 births
- 2017 deaths
- Sportspeople from Neath
- Welsh female discus throwers
- British female discus throwers
- Olympic female discus throwers
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
- British Athletics Championships winners
- Swansea Harriers Athletics Club
- British athletics biography stubs
- Welsh sportspeople stubs