Iwan Thomas
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Men's athletics | ||
Representing Great Britain | ||
Olympic Games | ||
1996 Atlanta | 4x400 m relay | |
World Championships | ||
1997 Athens | 4x400 m relay | |
European Championships | ||
1998 Budapest | 400 m | |
1998 Budapest | 4x400 m relay | |
EAA European Cup | ||
1995 | 4x400 m relay | |
1997 | 4x400 m relay | |
Commonwealth Games | ||
1998 Kuala Lumpur | 400 m | |
1998 Kuala Lumpur | 4x400 m | |
2002 Manchester | 4x400 m | |
IAAF World Cup | ||
1998 Johannesburg | 400 m | |
1998 Johannesburg | 4x400 m |
Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE (born 5 January 1974 in Farnborough, London Borough of Bromley) is an Olympic Athlete, who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 m, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is the current UK record holder at 400 m with a time of 44.36 seconds and is a former European and Commonwealth games champion. He is also the current holder of the Commonwealth Games record in the 400 m.
Biography
His initial athletics breakthrough came at the World Junior Championships in 1992 as part of the British 4x400 m relay team that finished 5th. Thomas Stamford School and West London Institute of Higher Education, where he studied Sports Science and Geography. While still at university, he took part in the 1994 Commonwealth Games 400 m where he reached the semi-finals, representing Wales. From there, he was selected to represent Britain in the relay at the 1995 European Athletics Cup and secured his first championship gold medal.
Thomas's coach for much of his running career was Mike Smith, formerly coach to British 400 m runners Roger Black and Todd Bennett and also hurdler Kris Akabusi. Thomas was awarded an MBE in 1998.
Olympics
At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Thomas finished 5th in the final and took a silver medal in the 4x400 m event. He also represented Britain in the 2000 Olympics but was not selected for the individual event and despite running the fastest leg for the British team, did not secure a medal.
World Championships
Thomas was a member of the Great Britain 4x400m team at the 1997 World Athletics Championships in Athens. The team (Iwan Thomas, Roger Black, Jamie Baulch and Mark Richardson) finished second by 0.18 seconds to the United States. However, in 2008, US team member Antonio Pettigrew, who ran the second leg of the final, testified in the court case against trainer Trevor Graham that he had been aided by performance-enhancing substances between 1997 and 2001, including the 1997 World Championships. As the International Amateur Athletics Federation did not, as of 2008, change results retrospectively more than eight years after the event, the GB team was not awarded the gold medal retrospectively, although Pettigrew has returned his medals won in that period.[1][2]
On 7 January 2010 it was announced that Great Britain's 1997 World Championship 4x400m relay team were to be awarded the gold medal they were denied by the disqualified USA team.[3] New medals were minted for the ceremony, as not all of the American quartet returned the originals. Thomas received his gold medal in May 2010 in a presentation by Alun Ffred Jones at Cardiff Bay.[4]
Injury setbacks
Thomas' career was hampered by injury including a stress fracture to his ankle in 1999 that required telescopic surgery. He was again injured in 2003 with damage to his Achilles. Further injury in 2004 ruled him out of the 2004 Olympic Games. Thomas was selected in 2006 for the Welsh team for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, but was unable to compete due to an injury.
Outside athletics
Personal life
Thomas lives in Southampton. After winning Deadline, he bought himself a Ducati 1098 motorcycle. He is a lifelong supporter of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club,[5]even though he may latterly also have become a supporter of Southampton Football Club,[6]
Television work
Thomas worked as a guest presenter of the Children's television show 'Best Of Friends', alongside Darren Campbell and Zöe Salmon.
He is a regular panelist on BBC Two's Through The Keyhole, was a contestant on Superstars on both BBC One and Five and took part in BBC One's Hole In The Wall. He has also been a contestant on BBC One's Celebrity MasterChef, and The Real Hustle.
Thomas can also be seen as a regular guest of Channel 5's The Wright Stuff. On 18 July 2008 Thomas admitted that he once fell asleep on live TV after "having a few sneaky beers in the Green Room before the show". He was not specific about the programme but did admit that the presenter was Eamonn Holmes. He starred in Daily Cooks Challenge as a judge alongside presenter Antony Worrall Thompson.
Iwan took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout which aired on 18 September 2010.
Iwan took part in a celebrity version of TV show Egg Heads which aired on 22nd December 2010.
Other activities
Iwan Thomas joined the Ecover Sailing Team in 2009 as part of an Extreme 40 event. He was the 5th man on their boat on 31 July, racing catamarans around Egypt Point in Cowes, for a practice day of the iShares cup.[7]
References
- ^ Pettigrew given two-year dope ban BBC Sport, 3 June 2008
- ^ Thomas calls for justice after Pettigrew's disgrace The Guardian, 5 June 2008
- ^ Great Britain's relay heroes will finally be honoured BBC Sport, 7 January 2010
- ^ Welsh athletes Baulch and Thomas finally hold the gold. BBC Sport (2010-05-11). Retrieved on 2010-06-04.
- ^ http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/hotspuroutfriday261109.html
- ^ Talk of the Terrace ESPN UK, 28 March 2010
- ^ "Ecover Extreme 40 Sailing Team". Ecover Sailing Team. 30 July 2009.
External links
- 1974 births
- Living people
- Welsh athletes
- Welsh sprinters
- Alumni of Brunel University
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Wales
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Wales
- Olympic athletes of Great Britain
- Olympic silver medalists for Great Britain
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Old Stamfordians
- BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year
- People from Farnborough, London