Sam Atkin

British athlete

5000 metres
10000 metres

University teamLewis–Clark State Warriors

Sam Atkin (born 14 March 1993)^[1] is a British Olympic athlete specialising in long-distance running, predominantly the 5000 metres and 10,000 m races.

He is the British record holder for the 5 km road race and the British indoor record holder for the 3000 metres.

Running career

Sam Atkin won the North of England cross-country under-17 men's title in Blackburn. Also a keen footballer and tennis player as a teenager, in athletics he started with Grimsby Harriers and moved to Cleethorpes and eventually Lincoln Wellington, where he teamed up with coach Rob Lewis.

In 2011, aged 18, he had the chance to study in the United States and went to Lewis–Clark State College in Idaho. Atkin's progress was affected by a rare problem called Freiberg disease, where one of the metatarsals in his foot protrudes upwards, causing discomfort.^[2] He graduated from LCSC with a degree in Business Management and Sports Administration in 2016, stayed in Idaho and also coaches other athletes. While coaching and competing he also studied at Western Governors University and graduated with an MBA in 2019.^[3]

At the Sound Running Track Meet in California on 5 December 2020, Atkin ran the fourth fastest time by a British athlete over the 10,000 metres behind only Mo Farah, Jon Brown and Eamonn Martin. Despite starting that race as a pacemaker, he hit the Olympic qualifying time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics^[2] where he represented Britain in the 10,000 metres race, but did not finish as he suffered an injury mid-race.^[4]^[5]

On 27 January 2023 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic on a Boston University track, the 29-year-old broke Mo Farah's seven-year British 3000 m indoor record (7:33.1) with a time of 7:31.97. Atkin took 15 seconds off his personal best and set the fastest 3000 m (indoors or out) by a UK athlete in history as (Farah's) outdoor record stood at 7:32.62 at the time.^[6]^[7] On 19 March, he sliced four seconds off Marc Scott's 2020 British 5 kilometres record with 13:16 in Lille, France.^[8]

Due to injury he didn’t compete after March 2023 until he ran a new 5000 metres personal best of 12:58.73 in Boston, Massachusetts in January 2024.^[9]

Personal bests

Outdoor

800 metres – 1:53.13 (Spokane, WA 2018)
1500 metres – 3:45.07 (Eugene, OR 2018)
Mile – 3:58.60 (St. Louis, MO 2018)
3000 metres – 7:39.71 (Gateshead 2021)
5000 metres – 13:15.31 (Eugene, OR 2022)
10,000 metres – 27:26.58 (San Juan Capistrano, CA 2020)

Indoor

800 metres – 1:53.79 (Nampa, ID 2018)
Mile – 4:05.39 (Nampa, ID 2020)
3000 metres – 7:31.97 (Boston, MA 2023) NR
5000 metres – 12:58.73 (Boston, MA 2024)

Road

5 kilometres – 13:16 (Lille 2023) NR

References

^ "Sam ATKIN – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b Henderson, Jason (10 December 2020). "Sam Atkin comes of age with stunning track breakthrough". AW. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
^ "Sam Atkin - Assistant coach - Staff Directory". Lewis-Clark State College Warriors. Lewis–Clark State College. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
^ "Grimsby athlete Sam Atkin suffers injury disappointment at Olympic Games". Grimsbylive. 30 July 2021.
^ "Former NAIA Star Sam Atkin Has Olympic Games In Sight - FloTrack". www.flotrack.org. 15 December 2020.
^ Henderson, Jason (27 January 2023). "British records fall to Dina Asher-Smith and Sam Atkin". AW. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
^ "Sam Atkin breaks Mo Farah's British 3,000m record in Boston". BBC Sport. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
^ Henderson, Jason (20 March 2023). "British 5km record falls to Sam Atkin in Lille". AW. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
^ Henderson, Jason (27 January 2024). "Amber Anning breaks Katharine Merry's British indoor 200m record". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 27 January 2024.