Ben St Lawrence (born 7 November 1981) is an Australian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who specialises in the 5,000 and 10,000metres. He is the former

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and

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record holder in the 10,000metres. St Lawrence competed in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

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and qualified for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

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. St Lawrence qualified for the 10,000metres in both instances. He has also qualified for two

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, two World Cross Country Championships and two

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

Competition

St Lawrence's debut at an international athletics competition was at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships where he competed in the senior men's race; finishing 126th in at time 39minutes and twoseconds. He then competed in the 2010 Notturna di Milano 3,000 meter race, placing 7th with 7 minutes and 42 seconds. Later in the year, he competed at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

and finished 7th in both the 5,000metres and the 10,000metres. At the 2011 World Championships St Lawrence competed in the 5000metres and finished 11th in his heat and therefore did not progress to the final. Also in 2011 was the World Cross Country Championships where St Lawrence finished 60th, 66 places better than his previous World Cross Country Championships. For the

, St Lawrence qualified for the 10,000metres on the first day of the qualification window. At the Olympics, he finished 20th in his race. St Lawrence's next major competition was the 2013 World Championships where he competed in both the 5,000metres and the 10,000metres. In the 5,000metres he finished 18th in his heat and didn't progress to the final and in the 10,000metres he reached the final before withdrawing. He competed in his 2nd Commonwealth Games in the 2014 edition. He reached the final of the 10,000metres and finished 16th. St Lawrence qualified for the 10,000metres for the

in May 2015 at the athletics track in

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; the same track on which he qualified for the 2012 Olympics. Domestically, St Lawrence has won six Australian titles; five at the track and field championships and one at the road running-championships. At the most recent track and field championships in 2016 St Lawrence finished 3rd in the 5,000 metres.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St Lawrence, Ben Australian male long-distance runners 1981 births Living people Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games athletes for Australia Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian Athletics Championships winners New Zealand Athletics Championships winners 21st-century Australian sportsmen