Adam Gemili
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Adam Ahmed Gemili (born 6 October 1993) is a British sprinter. He is the 2014 European champion at
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
4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...
, and part of the Great Britain team that won gold in the 2017 World Championships in the same event. He was the first British Athlete to go sub-10s in the 100m and sub-20s in the 200m. A
silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
ist in the
100 metres 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 conteste ...
and 4 × 100 m relay in the
2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
, Gemili is also a former World Junior champion at 100 m and European Under-23 champion at 100 m and 4 × 100 m relay.


Achievements

Gemili won a
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
over 100 m at the
2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on 10–15 ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. His winning time of 10.05 seconds established a new championship record, and is the second fastest ever run by a European
junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...
, behind only Christophe Lemaitre (10.04). Having cleared the Olympic qualifying time with his 10.08 seconds in the 100 m in June 2012, Gemili competed at the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
where he, after a poor start, came third in the semi-final in a time of 10.06 s, 0.04 s short of qualifying for the final. He was selected to run the 200 m at the
2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...
. Having set a personal best in the first round, in the semi-final Gemili ran a time of 19.98, making him only the second British athlete, after John Regis, the third teenager (after
Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight- ...
and
Alonso Edward Alonso Reno Edward Henry (born 8 December 1989), commonly known as Alonso Edward, is a Panamanian sprinter who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. He set a South American junior record in the 100 m in 2007 and he attended his first Wo ...
), and the ninth European athlete, to break 20 seconds in the event. 2013 was his first season training for the event. Gemili won his first senior medal at the
2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
coming second to Jamaica's
Kemar Bailey-Cole Kemar Bailey-Cole (born 10 January 1992) is a male track and field athlete from Jamaica, who mainly competes in the 100m. He is the 2014 Commonwealth Games 100 metres champion. Career He qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics running a perso ...
in the
100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
final in a time of 10.10 seconds. Two weeks later, Gemili took his first senior title, winning the 200 m at the
2014 European Athletics Championships The 2014 European Athletics Championships was held in Zürich, Switzerland, between 12 and 17 August 2014. It was the first time that Switzerland had hosted the European Athletics Championships since 1954. Great Britain headed the medal table, w ...
, in an equal personal best of 19.98 (−1.6 m/s). Gemili was overlooked for individual selection for the 2017 World Championships, following early season injury, but was included in the 4 x 100-metre relay team. Racing both heats and final, he won a historic gold medal as a member of the British quartet in a national and European record, lifting the team to third on the all-time list behind USA and Jamaica. The race was also notable as
Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight- ...
's last race; third at the changeover, Bolt pulled up injured and was unable to finish. Gemili is a member of
Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletic Club Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC is an athletics club based in South-East London, 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 ...
, and also a former football player for Dagenham & Redbridge and
Thurrock F.C. Thurrock Football Club was an English football club based in Purfleet, Thurrock, Essex. Known as Purfleet until 2003, the club played at Ship Lane. History Originally being founded as Essex Sports in 1984, the club was renamed to Purfleet in Ap ...
having spent seven years in the youth academy at
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. Gemili is the only man of Middle Eastern descent to run the 100 m in under 10 seconds, and the first Briton to run both the 100 m in less than 10 seconds, and the 200 m in less than 20.


Early life

Gemili is of
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian and Moroccan descent, which he considers to be "a very weird background for a sprinter." He is the first sprinter of either North African or Middle Eastern descent to break both the 10 second and 20 second barriers for 100 and 200 metres respectively At the age of eleven, Gemili attended
Dartford Grammar School Dartford Grammar School is a selective secondary (ages 11–19) foundation school for boys in Dartford, Kent, England, which admits girls to its sixth form (ages 16–18). All of the students joining the school are considered to be from the top ...
. He also attended
Barking and Dagenham College Barking & Dagenham College is a general further education college in East London, England. It is located at a single complex in the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham next to Central Park and less than a mile from the town ...
where he studied for a
BTEC Extended Diploma The BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) Level 3 diploma is a Further Education qualification and vocational qualification taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The qualification is organised and awarded by Pearson within the ...
in Sport, and hoped to attend university at some point. After the 2012 Olympics he started studying Sports and Exercise Science with Human Biology at the
University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...
, where he wrote his dissertation on the effect of particular warm-up exercises on sprinting performance. He is a member of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers.


Sprinting career


2011-15

Gemili won a silver medal over 100 m at the
2011 European Athletics Junior Championships The 21st European Athletics Junior Championships were held between 21 and 24 July 2011 in the Kadriorg Stadium in Tallinn, Estonia. Russia topped the medal table with 18 medals overall, including 8 golds, ahead of Germany and Great Britain. Men's ...
in
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
,
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. He also helped the British squad to a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. At the National Junior Athletic League Finals Gemili won the 200 m in 20.98, which was the fastest time by a European junior in 2011. Gemili ran an Olympic qualifying time for the 100 m and won the Sparkassen Gala in
Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
, Germany, on 2 June 2012, just over three weeks prior to the British track trials for the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. He beat his previous best time of 10.23 in the heats, running a time of 10.11 and then ran a time of 10.08 in the final. That time was the second fastest 100 m ever run by a British Junior, behind only
Dwain Chambers Dwain Anthony Chambers (born 5 April 1978) is a British track sprinter. He has won international medals at World and European levels and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of athletics. His primary event is the 100 me ...
(10.06 sec). At the time of his victory,
James Dasaolu James Dasaolu (born 5 September 1987) is a retired British track and field athlete who specialised in the 100 metres. He was the 2014 European champion over the distance. In July 2013, he became the second fastest Briton of all time after runni ...
was the only one other British athlete to have met the Olympic qualifying time for the men's 100 m. Gemili was selected for the British 2012 Olympic 4 × 100 m relay team on 3 July 2012. On 11 July 2012, Gemili finished first in the
100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
at the
2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on 10–15 ...
, winning the gold medal in a time of 10.05 seconds, breaking the championship record originally established by
Darrel Brown Darrel Rondel Brown (born October 11, 1984) is a sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago who specializes in the 100 metres and the 200 metres. In the beginning of his career, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete at ...
in 2002. Besides breaking the British national junior record, Gemili's 10.05 ranks sixth all-time among juniors, behind only Brown,
Jeffery Demps Jeffery Barnard Demps (born January 8, 1990) is an American track and field athlete and former American football running back. He attended the University of Florida, where he was a running back for the Florida Gators football team and a sprinte ...
, Marcus Rowland, D'Angelo Cherry and Christophe Lemaitre. He ran 10.11 in his first heat in the 100 m at the London 2012 Olympics, finishing second behind
Asafa Powell Asafa Powell, CD (born 23 November 1982) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres. He set the 100 metres world record twice, between June 2005 and May 2008 with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds. Powell has consiste ...
. As he finished in the top three of the heat Gemili qualified for the next round but despite finishing third in his semi-final in a time of 10.06, he failed to make the final. He qualified for the
2013 World Athletics Championships The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics (sport), athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Russi ...
in Moscow for the 200 m. In his semi-final, he clocked a time of 19.98, the second fastest time ever by a Briton in that distance, having been bettered only by John Regis. He thus qualified for his first major final and finished 5th with a time of 20.08. At the
2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
on 28 July 2014, Gemili finished second in a time of 10.10 seconds in the Men's 100 m final in a race won by
Kemar Bailey-Cole Kemar Bailey-Cole (born 10 January 1992) is a male track and field athlete from Jamaica, who mainly competes in the 100m. He is the 2014 Commonwealth Games 100 metres champion. Career He qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics running a perso ...
of Jamaica.


2015-19

On 31 May 2015, he broke the
10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less i ...
in the 100 m for the first time in his career, with a run of 9.97 seconds; however, the wind speed (+3.7 m/s) was above the legal wind limit. On 7 July 2015, at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, he became the 100th man in history to break the 10-second barrier
legally Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
in the 100 m, again clocking 9.97 seconds (+2.0 m/s); however, he fell as he crossed the line, picking up a hamstring injury which would cause him to miss the 2015 World Championships. He is the one hundredth man to break 10 seconds. Gemili qualified for the Men's 200 metres Final in Rio 2016. Gemili, Christophe Lemaitre, and
Churandy Martina Churandy Thomas Martina (born 3 July 1984) is a Dutch sprinter from Curaçao, currently representing the Netherlands. Previously, he represented the Netherlands Antilles until its dissolution in 2010. His personal best time over 100 metres ...
hit the finish line together. The
photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...
revealed Lemaitre to be the bronze medalist, with only six thousandths of a second separating the three runners. In the 2017 World Championships in London, Gemili won the Gold Medal in the 4 X 100m relay running the 2nd leg. Gemili qualified for both the individual 100m and 200m at the
2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...
in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
,
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
. He was eliminated in the 100m at the semi-final stage, missing out on qualification for the final via a photo finish. He narrowly missed out on a medal in the 200m final, leading the race coming off the bend but ultimately finishing in fourth place. He ran the first leg of the men's 4 × 100 m relay, winning a silver medal behind the United States in a new European record time of 37.36 seconds. Off track, in November 2019 Gemili led a group of 20 British athletes including
Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...
,
Katarina Johnson-Thompson Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson (born 9 January 1993) is an English athlete primarily known as an elite multi-eventer, both as a heptathlete and an indoor pentathlete. She has been World Champion in both disciplines, and a double Commonwealth G ...
and
Laura Muir Laura Muir (born 9 May 1993) is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 metres, having previously finished seventh in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Muir won the bronze med ...
who threatened to take legal action against the
British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...
regarding the interpretation of the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
's
Rule 40 Rule 40 is a by-law in the Olympic Charter stating that only approved sponsors may reference "Olympic-related terms". It was introduced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prevent so-called ambush marketing by companies who are not offi ...
contained in guidelines which had been recently issued by the association. Rule 40 restricts use of Olympic-related terms in marketing by non-approved sponsors: the athletes argued that the BOA's interpretation of the rule was too restrictive regarding how they could promote their individual sponsors. In March 2020 the athletes reached an agreement with the BOA which would allow athletes more opportunities to promote their sponsors during and immediately before and after the Games. In July 2020 Gemili was announced as a board member of the track and field athletes' union, the Athletics Association.


Football career

Formerly a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player, Gemili played as a defender for
Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
team Dagenham & Redbridge, and joined
Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The l ...
on loan at the end of August 2011, where he made 12 appearances in the
Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
until 30 November. He was previously a youth player at
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
from the age of eight onwards for seven years, and spent a year at
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. His time had been split between athletics and football; he said of his potential dual careers in 2012, "I hope this year could be a turning point in helping me decide which sport to focus on, but it does depend on what I run this year." In 2012 Gemili switched full-time to athletics.


Results


References


External links

* * * * * * * * * * * (2014) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gemili, Adam 1993 births Living people Footballers from Greater London English footballers Association football defenders Athletes from London English male sprinters British male sprinters Olympic male sprinters Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships winners World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships winners European Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Rising Star of the Year winners World Athletics U20 Championships winners British Athletics Championships winners Chelsea F.C. players Reading F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Thurrock F.C. players National League (English football) players English people of Iranian descent English people of Moroccan descent Alumni of the University of East London