Joanne Marie Pavey MBE (née Davis, born 20 September 1973) is a British long-distance runner representing Europe, Great Britain and England in a career notable for its longevity, range and consistency.

In 2015 media reports stated that 2007 silver medalist Elvan Abeylegesse had been found, on retesting, to have taken a prohibited substance, and suspended by IAAF.

An eleven-time national champion at distances between 1500 metres and the Marathon, she is coached by her husband and manager Gavin Pavey, with whom she has two children.

She made her Great Britain & NI debut in Athens in 1989 as a fifteen-year-old competing as an under twenty.

She first moved up to the 5000 m in 2000, after coming back from a two-year absence caused by hip and knee injuries.

Pavey reached the Olympic final, where she improved her personal best by 10 seconds to finish 12th and record a sub fifteen minute 5000m in her first year at the event.

[10] Pavey's Olympic performance in her debut year at 5000m set her up for a bright future at 5000m, and she entered the 2001 season with the aim of rivalling the national record.

[14] The women's 5,000 m at the Edmonton championships featured a controversy over the participation of Olga Yegorova, who had tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO), but had her suspension overturned.

[15] Several athletes, including the British team, discussed whether to boycott the event, but decided against it.

[15] After another winter of warm weather training in South Africa,[16] Pavey started the 2002 season with a 3,000 m performance which was at the time the fastest in the world that year.

[18] She returned in the European Cup, where she finished second to Olga Yegorova in the 5,000 m.[19] On the eve of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Pavey had a bacterial infection that caused her face to swell, but recovered in time to compete.

[24] For the first time in her senior career, in 2003 Pavey started the season by running cross country races.

[25] As part of the Great Britain team in the 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, she finished 40th.

As the track season started, Pavey won the 3000 m at a meeting in Lille,[26] and posted her two fastest 1500 m times.

[30] She finished fourth in the 1500 m in a personal best 4:01.79,[31] and the following day finished third in the 3000 m.[32] Pavey had continued to train as a 5000m runner in 2003 but ran a series of impressive 1500m races with 4:02.03 Rome, 4:03.91 Madrid and at the Paris World champs a slow tactical heat in 4:08.60, semi final of 4:03.78 and final of 4:03.03.

However, in the 2004 Olympic Games she ran a 5000 m semi-final at midnight and then a late-night 5000 m final (fifth place) and followed this punishing schedule by attempting to run the 1500 m heats the following day.

During 2003, without pace makers, she finished fourth in the 1500 m with a 4:01.79 clocking and third in the 3000 m with a time of 8:37.89 at the World Athletics Final in Monaco.

In 2005 Pavey front ran a 5000m in 14:40.71 only to be overtaken on the final lap by a chasing pack of six Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes.

[35] At the beginning of the 2009 athletics season, Pavey revealed that she was pregnant and, as a result, she would miss both the 2009 London Marathon and 2009 World Championships.

Pavey is the only female athlete in the modern era to have competed over 1500m, 5000m and 10000m at an Olympic Games and World Championships.

She was given the honour of being named the female captain of the European Team which won the Continental Cup ahead of the Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

She finished in third place in the 2014 BBC Sports Personality of the Year behind Lewis Hamilton (Formula One) and Rory McIlroy (Golf).

[46] She also ran an over 40 world record for 10 miles of 52:44 at the Great South Run in Portsmouth, England.

Despite suffering from a chest infection and virus, she lined up in the British Championship and Olympic Trials 10,000 metres on 21 May.

A top two finish inside the qualifying time of 32:15 would have guaranteed selection, but Pavey was well below her best and struggled home in sixth in 33:22.

Pavey travelled to Boston, USA for a 10000m race in which she hoped to gain the Olympic qualifying time.

At the age of 42 years 11 months, Pavey also became the oldest British track competitor at an Olympic Games.

Her time of 31:33.44 is recognised as the official world record/best by an over 40, although Kenyan Edith Masai ran an unratified 31:31.18 in 2007.

Jo Pavey (née Davis) started running at the King's School, Ottery St Mary, where teachers encouraged her to join an athletics club.

[55] In 2019 Pavey appeared on BBCs Pointless Celebrities charity edition, partnered with presenter Ade Adepitan, reaching but failing to win in the final rounds answers.