Rory Leonard (born 13 February 2001) is a British track and field athlete who competes as a long distance runner. In 2023, he won gold at the European U23 Athletics Championships over 10,000 metres.[1]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 13 February 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 10,000 metres, cross country | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Morpeth Harriers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early and personal life
editFrom Ampleforth, in Yorkshire,[2] he attended The King Edward VI School, Morpeth.[3] Leonard competed at the European Youth Olympics in 2018. From 2021, he attended Oklahoma State University where he studied English literature and philosophy. He runs for Morpeth Harriers.[4] He was coached by his father Tony as a youngster, and both his parents competed collegiately at the University of Arkansas, with his mother Sharon winning an English Schools silver medal in cross country in the 1980s.[5]
Career
editIn 2019, he was English National under-20 cross country champion and subsequently raced for Great Britain at the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus.[6]
He finished 16th in 2021 and 11th in 2022 at the European Cross Country Championships. In 2023, he set personal best times over 3000m indoors (8:07.97) and 10,000m (28:21.30).[1] That year, he won gold at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships over 10,000 metres in Espoo.[3]
In February 2024, he set a new personal best time of 13:31 in Monaco over 5km, which placed him seventh on the all time UK list.[7] In April 2024, he lowered that personal best to 13:29.54 in Battersea.[8] He ran a 10,000 metres personal best on the track in London in May 2024, running 27:38.39.[9] That month, he was selected to run the 10,000 metres for Britain at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b "Rory Leonard". World Athletics. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ Jervis, Oliver (9 December 2023). "Rory Leonard interview: Ampleforth runner making a name for himself on European cross-country scene". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ a b Scaife, Peter (19 July 2023). "Gold medal run at European Championships for Morpeth Harrier and former KEVI pupil Rory Leonard". Northumberland Gazette. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ Barden, Katy (November 2, 2023). "Euro U23 champ Rory Leonard pursues Olympic dream". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ Jones, Ruth (20 November 2018). "It's a family affair for Morpeth's Inter-Counties champion Rory Leonard". Fast Running. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ Whittington, Jessica (April 4, 2019). "Rory Leonard follows in family footsteps". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ "Fastest ever European U20 5km for Laros while Almgren blazes to 59:23 half marathon". European Athletics. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "Comeback 5000 at Battersea Park". Sport on Spec. April 26, 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ Henderson, Jason (May 19, 2024). "Megan Keith seals Olympic selection in Night of the 10,000m PBs thriller". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "KATARINA JOHNSON-THOMPSON NAMED IN STRONG GB & NI TEAM FOR EUROPEANS ROME 2024". British Athletics. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.