Chris Tomlinson
Christopher George "Chris" Tomlinson (born 15 September 1981)[1] is a retired English long jumper. He is the former British long jump record holder and competed at the Olympics of 2004, 2008 and 2012.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | 15 September 1981 | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||
Weight | 84 kg (185 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||
Country | |||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Long jump | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
Updated on 15 August 2012. |
Career
Born in Middlesbrough, Tomlinson began competing for Middlesbrough AC (formerly Mandale Harriers and Middlesbrough and Cleveland AC) at the age of 10, mostly over 100m and 200m. He attended Nunthorpe Secondary School, where he still holds many of its year group records for triple and long jump, before attending Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough. In his early teens Chris decided to concentrate on long jump. His major breakthrough came in 2002 when, just three months after breaking both wrists in a freak weight-training accident, he jumped 8.27 m to break the British record that had been held by Lynn Davies for 34 years. On 7 July 2007 he increased his record by a further 2 cm, jumping 8.29 metres (27 ft 2.4 in) while competing in Bad Langensalza in Germany.
Tomlinson competed for athletics club Newham and Essex Beagles for some time.
He has won seven national titles in various age groups, including one for the triple jump indoors for under 20s in 2000.
In February 2008 he became the world's top long jumper of the year so far with a leap of 8.18m. He won the silver medal at the 2008 World Indoor Championships. He competed at the 2008 Olympic Games without reaching the final. On 20 August 2009, his record was broken by 1 cm by Greg Rutherford in the qualifying for the World Championships long jump final. Both Rutherford and Tomlinson progressed to the final.
Tomlinson regained the British record in July 2011 with a jump of 8.35 m in Paris.[2] Rutherford equalled this distance on 3 May 2012,[3] before surpassing it in 2014.[4]
Tomlinson was conferred with an Honorary doctorate by the University of East London in 2010.[5]
Achievements
Note: Results with a q, indicate overall position in qualifying round
Personal bests
Event | Personal Best | Venue | Date |
---|---|---|---|
60 metres (indoor) | 6.84 seconds | Lee Valley, UK | 4 January 2009 |
100 metres | 10.69 seconds | Florida, United States | 13 April 2002 |
200 metres | 21.55 seconds | London, UK | 8 May 2004 |
Long Jump | 8.35 m | Paris, France | 8 July 2011 |
Long Jump (indoor) | 8.18 m | Stuttgart, Germany | 2 February 2008 |
Triple Jump | 14.67 m | Exeter, UK | 10 July 1998 |
Triple Jump (indoor) | 15.31 m | Birmingham, UK | 5 February 2000 |
References
- Turnbull, Simon (23 November 2011). "Chris Tomlinson: Drugs cheats cost me medals". The Independent. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- Hart, Simon (8 July 2011). "Cold start can't stop cruising Usain Bolt while Chris Tomlinson sets British long jump record". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- "Greg Rutherford equals British long jump record ahead of London 2012". The Guardian. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- "Greg Rutherford sets outright British long jump record". BBC Sport. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- "Engaging UEL". University of East London. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
- "Tomlinson, Christopher Biography". IAAF. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- "Athlete Profile". Thepowerof10.info. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Tomlinson. |
- Chris Tomlinson's Official Site
- Middlesbrough Athletic Club – search or scroll down page for Tomlinson