James Dasaolu

James Dasaolu

James Dasaolu after his silver medal at Göteborg 2013.
Personal information
Nationality British
Born 5 September 1987
London, England
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight 87 kg (192 lb)
Sport
Country  United Kingdom
Sport Athletics
Event(s) 100 metres
4×100m relay
Coached by Steve Fudge[2]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 100 m: 9.91 (Birmingham 2013)
60 m: 6.47 (Birmingham 2014)

James Dasaolu (born 5 September 1987) is a British sprint athlete who specialises in the 100 metres, over which distance he is the reigning European champion.

In July 2013, he became the second fastest Briton of all time after running a 100 m time of 9.91 seconds in the British Championships.[3] In 2014 he won his first major title, claiming the gold medal in the 100 metres at the 2014 European Athletics Championships.

Background

Born in south London to Nigerian parents, Dasaolu did not take up sprinting seriously until he was 18 when he began a leisure management degree at Loughborough.[4]

Sprinting career

Early career

He began his career in competitive athletics relatively late, first competing in 2006; as a result he had a limited youth and junior career. However, having begun, Croydon Harrier Dasaolu made steady and significant improvements in his first few years; his 100 m personal best in 2006 was 10.75 seconds, then 10.33 seconds in 2007, and 10.26 seconds in 2008.[5]

2008

The 2008 season saw Dasaolu rise up the national rankings and introduced to the UK Athletics warm weather training camp. Under the tutelage of coach Michael Khmel at Loughborough University and training with 2006 World Junior Champion Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and former European Junior Champion Leon Baptiste,[6] Dasaolu won the 2008 England under-23 championships and reached the semi-finals at the British Olympic Trials.[5]

2009

The beginning of the 2009 season showed further improvement for Dasaolu. At the seventh Graziano Della Valle meet in Italy, he recorded a new personal best of 10.15 seconds and finished in second place overall behind Aikines-Aryeetey.[7] Two weeks later he finished with 10.25 seconds at the Papaflessia meet in Greece, second only to European season leader Dwain Chambers.[8] A 100 m win at the European Athletics permit meet in Geneva in June placed him among the top European sprinters for the first time. His new personal best time of 10.09 seconds made him joint second, with Simeon Williamson, in the season's 100 m European rankings and improved his chances for a place on the British relay team at the Berlin World Championships.[9]

2010

The 2010 season saw Dasaolu make his senior GB debut when he represented GB at the European Championships in Barcelona after finishing second only to Dwain Chambers in the UK trials with a time of 10.23. However he disappointed at the Championships where he stumbled through his heat with a time of 10.40 and then crashed out in the semi finals with at time of 10.31.

2012

Dasaolu was selected by UK Athletics for the 100 metres at the 2012 Olympics. He set a season's best time of 10.13 in his heat, finishing third behind winner Usain Bolt to qualify for the semi-finals. He finished seventh in his semi-final with a time of 10.18.[10]

2013

He began 2013 by winning a silver medal at the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships in the 60 metres, running a personal best of 6.48s in the final, finishing centimetres behind champion Jimmy Vicaut. On 13 July at the British trials, Dasaolu ran a personal best of 9.91, the second fastest time ever by a Briton behind Linford Christie. He was selected as a member of the British squad for the 2013 World Championships in Athletics for the 100 metres and 4 x 100 metres relay.[11] In the 100 metres Dasaolu advanced from the heats as a fastest loser before setting a time of 9.97 in the semi-final to qualify for a world-level final for the first time, where he finished in eighth with a time of 10.21.[12]

2014

2014 started brightly for Dasaolu as he opened with a 6.50 in the 60m at the annual Glasgow International Match to start his indoor campaign. A time only 0.02 shy of his personal best achieved in the previous year at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg. He would later run 6.47 at the Sainsbury's Indoor Grand Prix, improving his personal best by one hundredth of a second. In the final of the Grand Prix, Dasaolu won with a time of 6.50 but pulled up 20m from the line after a slight tear in his thigh muscle, causing him to give up his automatic selection place for the World Indoor Championships and focus on the outdoor season instead. Dasaolu won his first major senior gold in the final of the 100m at the 2014 European Athletics Championships with a time of 10.06 seconds.

Personal bests

Event Best Location Date
60 metres 6.47 s Birmingham, England 15 February 2014
100 metres 9.91 s Birmingham, England 13 July 2013

See also

References

  1. ↑ "James Dasaolu". teamgb.com. British Olympic Association. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Fordyce, Tom (15 August 2014). "Young, hungry and tough: The rise of British sprinters". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  3. ↑ Lewis, Aimee. "BBC Sport - James Dasaolu becomes second-fastest Briton in history". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
  4. ↑ "Britain's James Dasaolu finally ready to join sprinting elite". Telegraph. 2013-07-09. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Turnbull, Simon (2009-06-08). Dasaolu breaks into world class. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2009-06-08.
  6. ↑ Midweek Speak. UK Athletics (2009-05-13). Retrieved on 2009-06-08.
  7. ↑ VII MEETING INTERNAZIONALE E.A.P. `GRAZIANO DELLA VALLE` 100m M - RISULTATI. Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera. Retrieved on 2009-06-08.
  8. ↑ Chambers sets European season's best in 100m. Eurosport/AFP (2009-05-30). Retrieved on 2009-06-08.
  9. ↑ Impressive Dasaolu boosts GB bid. BBC Sport (2009-06-08). Retrieved on 2009-06-08.
  10. ↑ Bailey, Michael (6 August 2012). "James Dasaolu left disappointed with his London Olympics 100m effort – but he will be back". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "Farah Aiming to Retain World 5000m Title as British Athletics Name World Championships Team". British Athletics. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Hart, Simon (11 August 2013). "World Athletics Championship 2013: a race too many for brave sprint James Dasaolu". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Biography Dasaolu, James. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-08.

External links