Timothy Benjamin
Encyclopedia
Timothy David Benjamin is a former professional athlete from Wales
. He specialised in the 400 metres
, and in his teens was coached by Jock Anderson, in the same training group as Christian Malcolm
. He then moved to live in Slough
to be coached by Tony Lester; Marlon Devonish
amongst others was one of his training partners.
As a youngster, he ran over 200 metres
, and won several junior titles, including the World Youth Championship in 1999
. Soon after, he began to concentrate on the 400 m, and was selected for the relay squad at the World Championships in Athletics in Edmonton
in 2001.
By 2002 he had established himself as one of Britain's best athletes, winning the British AAA title, and running in the successful Team GB squad at the European Cup
. In the Commonwealth Games
that year, he helped guide Wales to a silver medal in the controversial 4x 400 metres relay, which was won by England
, and disputed by many, including the athletes themselves. It was during that year also that he earned a silver in the European Athletics U23 Championships
in Poland
.
Following a number of injuries, he announced his retirement from athletics in 2009.
and took silver at the World Athletics Final
.
At the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg
, he won the silver medal in the 4x400 m relay with the British
team, as the finishing sprinter, along with Robert Tobin
, Rhys Williams and Graham Hedman
, in a time of 3:01.63. He finished sixth in the final of the individual event.
In late 2006, he announced that he was moving back to his hometown of Cardiff
to be coached by former 100 metres hurdles
world record holder Colin Jackson
, whilst fellow Welsh
relay member Rhys Williams would also be moving back from Loughborough
.
Benjamin competed at the 2007 World Championships
in Osaka
, but failed to make the final, recording 46.17 s in the semis.
Benjamin suffered a number of injuries and decided to bring an end to his athletics career in mid-2009. Citing his disappointment in missing the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he said that "taking an individual or relay spot in [the Berlin World Championships
] from an aspiring 2012 Olympian
would be disingenuous and unfair".
, an accomplished Welsh
middle distance specialist in her own right. They married in November 2007. His father is a highly regarded professor of Biosciences at Cardiff University.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He specialised in the 400 metres
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
, and in his teens was coached by Jock Anderson, in the same training group as Christian Malcolm
Christian Malcolm
Christian Sean Malcolm is a Welsh athlete, specialising in the 200m.Malcolm was born in Cardiff and resides in Newport, Wales. He won the title of World Junior Athlete of the Year in 1998 and in the 1998 World Junior Championships, he won the 200m in 20.44 seconds...
. He then moved to live in Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
to be coached by Tony Lester; Marlon Devonish
Marlon Devonish
Marlon Ronald Devonish, MBE is an English sprint athlete.He is a member of the Coventry Godiva Harriers athletics club and is coached by Tony Lester. Early in his career he was successful at both 100 and 200 metre distances, winning English Schools and European Junior titles at both, but in recent...
amongst others was one of his training partners.
As a youngster, he ran over 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
, and won several junior titles, including the World Youth Championship in 1999
1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics
The 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the first edition of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 16 to July 18, 1999.-Boys:-Girls:-Medals table:...
. Soon after, he began to concentrate on the 400 m, and was selected for the relay squad at the World Championships in Athletics in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
in 2001.
By 2002 he had established himself as one of Britain's best athletes, winning the British AAA title, and running in the successful Team GB squad at the European Cup
European Cup (athletics)
The European Cup is a now defunct athletics competition, replaced by the European Team Championships from 2009 onwards. The Europa Cup saw most of the major nations of Europe compete. Originally known as the Bruno Zauli Cup, it first took place in Stuttgart and Kassel , Germany in 1965...
. In the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
that year, he helped guide Wales to a silver medal in the controversial 4x 400 metres relay, which was won by England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and disputed by many, including the athletes themselves. It was during that year also that he earned a silver in the European Athletics U23 Championships
European Athletics U23 Championships
The European Athletics U23 Championships is a biennial athletics competition for European athletes under the age of 23, which is organized by the European Athletic Association...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Following a number of injuries, he announced his retirement from athletics in 2009.
Senior career
He reached the semi-finals of the 2004 Olympics, and won the 400 m race at the 2004 European Cup. Further achievements in the 400 m came in 2005: he came fifth at the World Championships2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
and took silver at the World Athletics Final
2005 IAAF World Athletics Final
The 3rd IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on September 9, and September 10, 2005.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary on September 3 as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.- Medal...
.
At the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, he won the silver medal in the 4x400 m relay with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
team, as the finishing sprinter, along with Robert Tobin
Robert Tobin
Robert "Rob" John Tobin is an English sprinter. He currently has a PB in the 400 m of 45.01 seconds.-Personal life:...
, Rhys Williams and Graham Hedman
Graham Hedman
Graham Hedman is a British sprinter. At the 2006 European Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg, he won the silver medal in the 4x400 m relay along with Robert Tobin, Rhys Williams and Timothy Benjamin, in a time of 3:01.63.-Personal bests:100 m 10.64 sec 200 m 21.02 400 m 45.84 400 L 45.0...
, in a time of 3:01.63. He finished sixth in the final of the individual event.
In late 2006, he announced that he was moving back to his hometown of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
to be coached by former 100 metres hurdles
100 metres hurdles
The 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...
world record holder Colin Jackson
Colin Jackson
Colin Ray Jackson CBE is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. Over his career representing Great Britain and Wales he won an Olympic silver medal, became world champion three times, went undefeated at the European Championships for 12 years and...
, whilst fellow Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
relay member Rhys Williams would also be moving back from Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
.
Benjamin competed at the 2007 World Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, but failed to make the final, recording 46.17 s in the semis.
Benjamin suffered a number of injuries and decided to bring an end to his athletics career in mid-2009. Citing his disappointment in missing the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he said that "taking an individual or relay spot in [the Berlin World Championships
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
] from an aspiring 2012 Olympian
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
would be disingenuous and unfair".
Personal life
Benjamin is married to a sweetheart from his schooldays, Natalie LewisNatalie Lewis
Natalie Benjamin-Lewis is a Welsh middle distance athlete from Cardiff, Wales. She specialises in the 1500 metres. She has represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester 2002 and Melbourne 2006...
, an accomplished Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
middle distance specialist in her own right. They married in November 2007. His father is a highly regarded professor of Biosciences at Cardiff University.
Personal bests
Last updated 6 April 2009| Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 metres 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
6.75 | Birmingham | 2000 |
| 100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896... |
10.48 | Radyr Comprehensive School (Sports Day) | 2000 |
| 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
20.67 | Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... , Wales |
17 June 2001 |
| 400 metres 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and... |
44.56 | Monaco Monaco Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the... |
9 September 2005 |
- All information taken from IAAF profile.