Simone Laidlow

Simone Laidlow
née Gandy

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	(1965-07-28) 28 July 1965 Southampton, England
Height	172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	52 kg (115 lb)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event	400 metres hurdles
Club	Borough of Hounslow AC

Simone Lucy Laidlow (née Gandy, born 28 July 1965) is a female English former 400 metres hurdler. She represented Great Britain in the women's 400 metres hurdles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She finished second at the UK Championships three times (1985, 1986 and 1988). Her twin sister, Dawn Gandy, is also a former international athlete.

Career

Born in Southampton, Simone Gandy finished second at the UK Championships in 1985 and 1986, and third in 1984 and 1987. Her best performance in these years was 57.56 secs at the England v Romania international in Bucharest on 14 June 1986. She represented England at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 26 July 1986, where she was eliminated in the heats with 60.31.

In 1988, now competing as Simone Laidlow, she finished second behind Elaine McLaughlin at the UK Championships in 57.66. Two months later she finished third behind Sally Gunnell and McLaughlin at the AAA Championships/Olympic trials, earning Olympic selection in a lifetime best of 57.00, just ahead of Wendy Cearns in fourth with 57.01. Her 57.00 would stand as the Hounslow AC club record until broken by Nicola Sanders in 2005. At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, she was eliminated in the heats running 59.28.

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing Great Britain / England
1983	European Junior Championships	Schwechat, Austria	13th (sf)	60.37 (59.72 heat)
1986	Commonwealth Games	Edinburgh, United Kingdom	9th (h)	60.31
1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	30th (h)	59.28
(#) Indicates overall position in qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf)