Lee Merrien (born 26 April 1979) is a British middle distance and

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 ...

. He was named to the British team for 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 ...

following a Facebook campaign after he was initially not selected to the team. He has won multiple events at the

Island Games The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent ...

for his home of

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

Career

Merrien competed at his first

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

in 1999, however he did finish in a medal position that year. Representing his home of

, he went on to win nine gold medals over the next several years at the

in the half marathon, 1,500 m, 5,000 m and 4 × 400 m relay, and also won two silver medals and one bronze. At the

2009 Island Games The XIII Island Games were held in Åland, Finland, June 27-July 4, 2009. For the 13th edition of the Games, 25 teams competed in 14 different sports. Participating Countries 24 islands competed in the 2009 Island Games.List oParticipating Island ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

he set Island Games records in both the 1,500 m and the 5,000 m events. In the

2011 London Marathon The 2011 London Marathon was the 31st running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 17 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai in a course record time of 2:04:40 hours and ...

, he set a new personal best of 2 h 14 min 27 s, which was within the "B" qualifying time for the

and was the fastest British competitor in the race. He admitted afterwards that he had mixed feelings regarding his time, as although it was a new personal best, it wasn't within the "A" qualifying time for the Games. His only previous attempt at the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

was in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

when he finished in 12th place. He finished 17th in the

2012 London Marathon The 2012 London Marathon was the 32nd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 22 April. Both of the elite races were won by Kenyan athletes, and Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede was the only non-Kenyan to re ...

, which was once again the highest placed British competitor in the race. He finished in a time of 2 h 13 min 41 s, a new personal best, just outside the Olympic qualifying time set by

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 ...

at 2 h 12 min. Due to this, he was not chosen for the British team at the 2012 Olympics, with Scott Overall and Dave Webb being chosen for the team, and with the third spot left deliberately empty. His time was inside the "A" time of 2 h 15 min as set by the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

. This resulted in an online campaign on Facebook to select Merrien for the British team, run by fan Cara Saul. The campaign resulted in 3,000 followers. Merrien appealed against the decision not to select him; his appeal was thrown out by UK Athletics. However, on 27 April, it was announced that the selectors had reversed their decision and added Merrien to the British team for the Olympics. Merrien's response was described as "ecstatic". In his final race prior to the 2012 Games, he won a half Marathon on Guernsey in June, eight and a half minutes ahead of the second placed athlete. Prior to the games, he completed altitude training in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

mountains in Europe, having previous attended camps in

Iten Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya and serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) awarded the town with a plaque recognising Iten as a Wo ...

, Kenya. At the Olympics he finished 30th in the field, the highest place Brit.

Personal life

Merrien attended the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

, graduating with a degree in Coach Education and Sports Performance. He currently manages a running club. He is the spokesman for charity Male Uprising in Guernsey which aims to raise awareness of prostate, testicular and bowel cancer.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrien, Lee 1978 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bath Commonwealth Games competitors for Guernsey Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain Guernsey male middle-distance runners Guernsey male long-distance runners People from the Bailiwick of Guernsey