Michael Bingham (born 13 April 1986) is an American-born British

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. The silver medalist in the individual 400 metres at the 2010 European Championships, his most notable successes came as a long-time member of the Great Britain and England 4 × 400 metre relay squads. A European indoor, European outdoor and Commonwealth Games champion in the long relay, Bingham won medals at every major indoor and outdoor championships available to him, winning Olympic bronze in 2008, World outdoor silver and World indoor silver (

twice Twice (; Japanese language, Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ''Tuwaisu''; commonly stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon ...

), in addition to the gold medals at

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

and Commonwealth Games level.

Early life

He is one of five children born to British citizen Norris Bingham and Mollissie in

Sylva, North Carolina Sylva is an incorporation (municipal government), incorporated town located in central Jackson County, North Carolina, Jackson County, in the Plott Balsams, Plott Balsam Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 United St ...

. His parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by his mother, attending

The McCallie School The McCallie School is a boys' college-preparatory school located on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. The school was founded in 1905 and now has 322 boarding students in grades 9–12 and 657 day students in grades 6� ...

. Bingham holds the school record in the

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run th ...

, 300IH,

4 × 100 m 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

, 4 × 200 m,

4 × 400 m 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

110 m hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

and

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

Collegiate and professional career

Bingham studied at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

, and after transferring allegiance on April 30, 2008, Bingham was part of the Great Britain 4 × 400 m relay team at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, that came 3rd in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. He ran a personal best of 44.74 in the 400 m semi-finals of

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

, qualifying for the final where he finished 7th. He then won

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

with the Great Britain 4 × 400 m relay team with Conrad Williams,

Robert Tobin Robert "Rob" John Tobin (born 20 December 1983 in Lincoln, England) is an English sprinter. He currently has a PB in the 400 m of 45.01 seconds. Personal life Tobin was born Robert John Tobin the youngest of two children born to Jacquel ...

and

Martyn Rooney Martyn Joseph Rooney (born 3 April 1987) is an English Sprint (running), sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres event. He reached the 400 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won bronze in the 4 × 400 metres relay. A mainstay on the ...

. He was formerly managed by Michael Johnson.

Personal life

On 9 November 2013, he married

Shana Cox Shana Amanda Cox (born January 22, 1985) is an American-born track and field athlete, who competes internationally for Great Britain since 2011. She specialises in the 200 metres and 400 metres. Cox was born in Brooklyn, New York to parents of ...

, also an American-born sprinter representing Great Britain.IAAF Relays bio
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References

External links

*
Team GB Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingham, Michael 1986 births Living people People from Sylva, North Carolina Track and field athletes from North Carolina American male sprinters English male sprinters British male sprinters Olympic male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists European Athletics Championships winners European Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Indoor Championships winners British Athletics Championships winners American people of British descent Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's track and field athletes Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century English sportsmen