Balancing Act
Athletics Weekly|June 7, 2018

LEE THOMPSON IS MANAGING TO SUCCESSFULLY COMBINE WORK WITH AN EVER-IMPROVING ATHLETICS CAREER

Emily Moss
Balancing Act

HE MAY have burst on to the senior 400m running scene this winter by taking victory at the British Indoor

Championships but, outside of track business, not much has changed for 21-year-old Lee Thompson. He still works full-time at Wilko and one of his biggest hobbies remains washing his VW Polo.

However, the Sheffield and Dearne athlete’s other major pastime relates to running round in a circle – something that is becoming somewhat more serious after his successes earlier in the year, which saw him clock a PB of 46.23 to take the British indoor title and earn him selection to represent Great Britain at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

On his senior GB debut, Thompson placed second in his heat to qualify for the semi-finals, where he was sixth, before helping GB to sixth in the 4x400m final.

“The home crowd gave me goosebumps every time I raced, the noise was so loud,” he says of the experience. “Representing your nation is always the biggest of honours, but to do it on a world stage in front of a home crowd, and at your first senior major championships – it was unforgettable.”

This story is from the June 7, 2018 edition of Athletics Weekly.

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This story is from the June 7, 2018 edition of Athletics Weekly.

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