Elizabeth Ann "Liz" Barnes (married name Laban; born 3 August 1951) is an English former middle-distance runner. She represented Great Britain in the women's 800 metres at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 1980 European Indoor Championships.

Career

As Liz Barnes, she ran her lifetime best for the 800 metres with 2:01.35 on 10 July 1976 in Zurich, before going on to compete at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, where she was eliminated in the heats of the 800m, running 2:01.70, and finished seventh in the final of the 4 × 400m relay, along with Gladys Taylor, Verona Elder and Donna Murray.^[1]

At the 1978 Commonwealth Games representing England in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Barnes finished fourth in the 800 m final in 2:03.41.^[2][3] Three weeks later, she reached the semifinals at the 1978 European Championships in Prague, running 2:01.69.^[4]

Barnes finished second behind Christina Boxer in 2:02.04 at the 1979 UK Championships and third in 2:02.74 behind Chris Benning and Janet Prictoe at the 1979 AAA Championships, before going on to win a bronze medal at the 1980 European Indoor Championships in Sindelfingen.^[5] Her time of 2:01.5 moved her to second on the British Indoor all-time list behind Jane Colebrook's 2:01.12 from 1977. She would remain second on the British indoor all-time list until Kelly Holmes ran 1:59.21 in 2003.^[6]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Great Britain /  England
1976	Olympic Games	Montreal, Canada	15th (h)	800 m	2:01.70
			7th	4 × 400 m	3:28.01
1978	Commonwealth Games	Edmonton, Canada	4th	800 m	2:03.41
	European Championships	Prague, Czechoslavkia	11th (sf)	800 m	2:01.69
1980	European Indoor Championships	Sindelfingen, Germany	3rd	800 m	2:01.5
(#) Indicates overall position in qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf)