Jessica Anne "Jess" Martin (née Andrews; born 1 October 1992) is a British

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 competed at 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 ...

, held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil.

Personal life

Martin was born on 1 October 1992. She attended school on the Isle of Wight. As a student she received financial support from fellow Great Britain Olympian

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a Somali-British former long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World tit ...

's foundation, studying for a degree in Sport, Health & Exercise Sciences at

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

. She is married to Irish road cyclist Dan Martin. The couple met whilst they were training in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

. In 2014, she moved from Surrey to Martin's home in

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

, and she currently splits her time between Andorra and

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

, where she trains with her coach Josep Carballude.

Career

Martin was unable to compete in the summer of 2013 after suffering a stress-fracture in her foot but returned to competition towards the end of the year. At the

2013 European Cross Country Championships The 2013 European Cross Country Championships was the 20th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes which was held in Belgrade, Serbia, on 8 December 2013. The senior individual winners were Alemayehu Bezabeh of Spain ...

, held in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Serbia, she finished 16th in the individual women's under-23's race. She also won a gold medal as part of the British women's under-23's team alongside

Charlotte Purdue Charlotte Lucy Purdue (born 10 June 1991) is a British long-distance runner who competes in the Marathon and Half Marathon, as well as cross country running for Aldershot, Farnham and District Athletics Club. After winning a number of youth ti ...

, Kate Avery, Lily Partridge, Rhona Auckland and Laura Weightman. In February 2014 she finished fifth over the eight kilometre distance at the National Cross-Country Championships in Nottingham, with her team Aldershot Farnham and District, winning the team title. Later that year she competed at the Southern Cross Country championships, winning the senior women's title and finished fifth at the Saucony English Cross Country Nationals. At the 2016 British Olympic trials, Martin beat her personal best in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

by 83 seconds to win the event in a time of 31 minutes 58 seconds and qualify for the Great Britain team for the

, being held in

, Brazil. The trials race was only Martin's second competitive 10,000 metre track race, having made her debut six weeks earlier at a meeting in Portugal.

Beth Potter Beth Potter (born 27 December 1991) is a Scottish triathlete and long distance runner. She competed for Great Britain in athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2019 she won the gold medal at the European Triathlon Championsh ...

finished second in the race to also qualify for Rio. Martin further improved her personal best in the Olympics finals, finishing in 16th place at 31 minutes 35 seconds After stepping off the track with six laps remaining of the 2017 World Championships 10,000m race she subsequently announced her retirement from international athletics aged 24. In 2025, Martin announced her intention to return to competitive running. Representing her adopted nation of Andorra, Martin won gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the

2025 Games of the Small States of Europe The 2025 Games of the Small States of Europe, also known as the XX Games of the Small States of Europe was a sporting event held in Andorra la Vella, Andorra from 27 May to 31 May 2025. Andorra previously hosted the 1991 Games of the Small States ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jess 1992 births Living people Alumni of Brunel University London English female long-distance runners British female long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain 21st-century English sportswomen