Michelle Carey (now Parker) represented Ireland in the women’s 400 metres hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and in the women’s 4×400 metres relay at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

From Dublin, Carey is a member of Dublin Striders AC and was a relatively late developer who made steady progress through her early twenties to become one of Ireland’s most consistent hurdlers. She won eight Irish national 400 metres hurdles titles and qualified for Beijing after a series of close calls to the A standard of 55.60 seconds – one of the most demanding qualifying standards in track athletics.

She studied at Dublin City University and trained at Loughborough alongside David Gillick. She set her personal best of 56.19 seconds in California in April 2008. At Beijing she competed in the 400 metres hurdles heats but did not advance. At London 2012 she was part of the 4×400 metres relay squad, running in the first round as the team did not advance.

After retiring from athletics she worked as a teacher in Leicester and maintained a blog about life as a gluten-free athlete.