Get to know Melissa Bishop

By Callum Ng, CBC Sports

Melissa Bishop is a medal threat in the 800-metres after dropping her time to a Canadian record and top three in the world.

She has improved greatly since London 2012, her first Olympics, where she placed 30th.

Bishop was second in the 800 at 2015 world championships in Beijing.

Famous moment

Bishop was ready at the right time in Beijing.

In the semifinals, she charged to the front and used a battle with two runners to help lower her personal best by over two seconds, breaking a 14-year-old national record with a time of one minute 57.52 seconds. She went on to run a close final, finishing with silver.

Bishop shaved her record down to 1:57.43 at a 2016 tune-up meet for the Rio Olympics, a time that stands heading into the Games.  

She said it...

• "Oh, it was so gratifying and so, so much satisfaction came out of that record. We have been, our training has been so consistent for the past five or six years and, I knew that I was sitting on something quick." - Bishop on breaking Diane Cummins' 14-year-old Canadian record

• "Because of what Dennis is going through it's not pressure, it's motivation. I want to do well for him, I want to show him that his program is world class. I want Dennis to be just so happy and excited and know that he is one of the greatest coaches that we have ever seen." - Bishop on her longtime coach Dennis Fairall, who was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), an uncommon brain disorder, after 2012

What they're saying about her...

• "I think London was a bit early for her, but she is ready for Rio," - coach Dennis Fairall to The Globe and Mail
• "I think she would be a shoe-in for a bronze medal. There are other people out there, but she is going to be tough to beat." - Dennis Fairall

Strengths

The 800 can be vicious as runners jostle for the inside track. "You have to get used to running very close to people and them being right there beside you. And, I think you have to stay relaxed and not to panic," Bishop said about the race.

She showed her smoothness at 2015 worlds, battling well through her semi and the final en route to the silver medal.

Weaknesses 

Bishop is a relatively new entrant to the 1:57 club (2015) compared to the two athletes who have run faster than her this year. 

South Africa's Caster Semenya, by far the class of the 800, has delivered fast times since 2009. Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba, who ran a 1:56 this season, first did so in 2012.    

Fun fact

She used to dance. "My cousin and I used to participate in Canadian step dancing – which is a similar form of dance to [Irish stepdance,]" Bishop said.  We used to perform at shows and local fairs."

"I did step dancing right through to high school and I think it taught me good rhythm. My grandma swears that all my track strength came from being on my toes and out of breath while step dancing."

Hometown

Eganville, Ont.

Lives in

Windsor, Ont.