Benjamin David Connor (born 17 October 1992) is a British runner who won the Night of 10,000m PBs event at the

2019 British Athletics Championships The 2019 British Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, held from 24 to 25 August 2019 at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. It was organised by UK Athletics. A full range ...

and the 2017

English National Cross Country Championships The English National Cross Country Championships is an annual English cross country running event which takes place in late February following the regional championships (Southern, Midlands and Northern) which all take place on the same weekend ...

. Connor competed in the marathon event at the delayed

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Biography

Connor is a member of Derby Athletics Club. He has trained with Ray Treacy in the US, and in Manchester, United Kingdom. From 2019, Connor has been self-coached. In 2017, Connor won the

. In the same year, he came sixth at the 2017 European Cross Country Championships, and fifth at the Night of 10,000m PBs race. In 2018, Connor came eighth at the Barcelona Half Marathon in a

personal best A personal record, or a personal best (abbreviated to PB), is an individual's best performance in a given sporting discipline. It is most commonly found in athletic sports, such as track and field, other forms of running, swimming and weightlifting ...

time of 1:01:12. It was the eighth fastest time in history by a Briton. Connor was a favourite for the 2018 Night of 10,000m PBs race. In 2019, Connor won the British Championships Night of 10K PBs event. In the same year, he also won the Podium 5k event, and competed in the 5,000 metres event at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

. In 2020, he ran a half-marathon

time of 1:00:55 in Antrim. He finished third in the race, and it was the fourth fastest half marathon time by a Briton ever. Later in the year, he competed in the

2020 London Marathon The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the London Marathon, annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postp ...

, his first ever marathon event. Connor was the second highest finishing Briton in the race. He finished 10 seconds quicker than the Olympic qualifying time. Connor and

Jonny Mellor Jonathan Richard Mellor (born 27 December 1986) is a British former long-distance runner. Biography Mellor competed in the 3000 metres event at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He finished 10th place finish at the 2017 Berlin Ma ...

had been battling for most of the race, before Mellor dropped Connor with to go to take the British winner's prize at the event. Connor finished 15th overall in the race. Later in the year, he came fourth in a cross country race in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

after losing a shoe early in the event. Connor competed at the 2021 British Athletics Marathon and 20km Walk Trial. The qualification criteria for the Olympics was to meet the qualifying time in a race since January 2019, and to finish in the top two at the trial event. He finished second in the men's marathon race, and therefore qualified for the

, Japan. Connor spent the race in the leading pack with Mo Aadan and Dewi Griffiths, but they were overtaken by Chris Thompson prior to the final lap of the race. He did not finish the Olympic marathon race. Connor finished fifth at the 2022 Night of 10,000m PBs race. He was the third British finisher. Connor was selected for the 2025 European Road Running Championships but declined the place after

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...

asked him to pay towards the cost of taking part.

Personal life

Connor is in a relationship with fellow runner

Lily Partridge Lily Partridge (born 9 March 1991) is a British long-distance runner. Major competition record References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Partridge, Lily Living people 1991 births English female long-distance runners British female long-distance runne ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Ben 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Derby British male cross country runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain British Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners English male cross country runners English male middle-distance runners British male middle-distance runners 21st-century English sportsmen