Timothy David Benjamin (born 2 May 1982) is a former professional athlete from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He specialised in the

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 on ...

, and in his teens was coached by Jock Anderson, in the same training group as

Christian Malcolm Christian Sean Malcolm (born 3 June 1979) is a retired Welsh track and field athlete who specialised in the 200 metres. In 2020 he was appointed Head Coach of the British Athletics Olympic Programme. Early life Malcolm was born and was brought ...

. He then moved to live in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, ...

to be coached by Tony Lester;

Marlon Devonish Marlon Ronald Devonish, (born 1 June 1976) is an English former sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres. A prodigious relay runner with particular strength as a 'bend' runner, Devonish ran the third leg for the Great Britain qu ...

amongst others was one of his training partners. As a youngster, he ran over

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a 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 the race. A slightl ...

, and won several junior titles, including the World Youth Championship in 1999. Soon after, he began to concentrate on the 400 m, and was selected for the relay squad at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the ...

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in 2001. By 2002 he had established himself as one of Britain's best athletes, winning the British AAA title, and running in the successful

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

squad at the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. In the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

that year, he helped guide Wales to a silver medal in the controversial 4 × 400 metres relay, which was won by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and disputed by many, including the athletes themselves. It was during that year also that he earned a silver in the

European Athletics U23 Championships The European Athletics U23 Championships is a biennial athletics competition for European athletes under the age of 23, which is organized by the European Athletic Association. The oldest of the 'age-group' track and field events held by Europe ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. Following a number of injuries, he announced his retirement from athletics in 2009.

Senior career

He reached the semi-finals of the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, and won the 400 m race at the 2004 European Cup. Further achievements in the 400 m came in 2005: he came fifth at the

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, ...

and took silver at the

World Athletics Final The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...

. At the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champi ...

in Gothenburg, he won the silver medal in the

4x400 m relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

team, as the finishing sprinter, along with

Robert Tobin The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, Rhys Williams and

Graham Hedman Graham Hedman (born 6 February 1979 in Witham, Essex) is a British sprinter. At the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, he won the silver medal in the 4x400 m relay along with Robert Tobin, Rhys Williams and Timothy Benjamin, ...

, in a time of 3:01.63. He finished sixth in the final of the individual event. In late 2006, he announced that he was moving back to his hometown of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

to be coached by former

100 metres hurdles The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first hurdle is ...

world record holder

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a Welsh former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became wo ...

, whilst fellow Welsh relay member Rhys Williams would also be moving back from

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second lar ...

. Benjamin competed at the 2007 World Championships in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, but failed to make the final, recording 46.17 s in the semis. Benjamin suffered a number of injuries and decided to bring an end to his athletics career in mid-2009. Citing his disappointment in missing the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

, he said that "taking an individual or relay spot in the Berlin World Championships from an aspiring 2012 Olympian would be disingenuous and unfair".Kessel, Anna (20 July 2009)
Tim Benjamin retires from athletics
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''. Retrieved on 2009=-07-21.

Personal life

Benjamin is married to a sweetheart from his schooldays,

Natalie Lewis Natalie Benjamin-Lewis (born 25 May 1982) is a Welsh middle distance athlete from Cardiff, Wales. She specialises in the 1500 metres. She has represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester 2002 and Melbourne 2006. She won the Amate ...

, an accomplished

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

middle distance specialist in her own right. They married in November 2007. His father is a highly regarded professor of Biosciences at Cardiff University.

Personal bests

''Last updated 6 April 2009'' * All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Timothy Living people 1982 births Welsh male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Olympic athletes for Great Britain People educated at Radyr Comprehensive School European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists AAA Championships winners Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games