Christian Blum (born 10 March 1987) is a German

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

sprinter who specialises 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

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

. He holds personal bests of 10.20 seconds and 6.56 seconds for those events. He was the 60 m silver medallist at the

European Athletics Indoor Championships The European Athletics Indoor Championships is a biennial indoor track and field competition for European athletes that is organised by the European Athletic Association. It was held for the first time in 1970, replacing the European Indoor Games ...

in 2015. He has also won medals with the 4×100 metres relay team. He is a five-time German champion over 60 m.

Career

Born in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its ...

, he initially took part in canoe racing as a youngster, but turned more to

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

after the age of thirteen. He later joined the athletics section of the TV Wattenscheid 01 sports club. His first international competition was the

2005 European Athletics Junior Championships The 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships was the 18th edition of the biennial athletics competition for European under-20 athletes, which was held in Kaunas, Lithuania on 21–24 July. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Referenc ...

, where he was a

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 ...

semi-finalist and a gold medallist with the German 4×100 metres relay team. He established himself on the national scene in 2006 with German junior titles over

and 200 m indoors, then an outdoor

national junior title.Christian Blum
. Leichatletik. Retrieved on 2015-03-09. That year he also competed at the

2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2006 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held from 15 August to 20 August at the Chaoyang Sports Centre in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China. ...

and was a semi-finalist in the 100 m and a relay finalist. Blum reached the peak of national athletics in his first year as a senior by winning the 60 m title at the 2007

German Indoor Athletics Championships The German Indoor Athletics Championships (german: Deutsche Leichtathletik-Hallenmeisterschaften) is an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the German Athletics Association, which serves as the German national championship for th ...

. This led to his first senior international call-up and he was a semi-finalist over that distance at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships. He ran in three events at the

2007 European Athletics U23 Championships The 6th European Athletics U23 Championships was held between 12 and 15 July 2007 in the Gyulai István Athletic Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Car ...

: he was seventh in the 100 m final but failed to finish in the relay and 200 m. He did manage third place in the 2007 European Cup 100 m, however. He improved his personal bests over all distance that year: 10.26 seconds for the 100 m, 20.85 seconds for the 200 m and 6.59 seconds for the 60 m.Christian Blum Progression
IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-09. He missed the majority of the 2008 season after suffering a thigh injury and his sole highlights of 2009 were a new 60 m best of 6.56 seconds and a seventh-place finish in the relay at the

2009 European Athletics U23 Championships The 7th European Athletics U23 Championships were held between 16 and 19 July 2009 in the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas, Lithuania. Complete results and medal winners were published. Men's results Women's results Medal ta ...

. He returned to form in 2010, being runner-up to Alexander Kosenkow over 100 m at the

2010 German Athletics Championships The 2010 in athletics (track and field), 2010 German Athletics Championships were held at the Eintracht-Stadion in Braunschweig on 17–18 July 2010. Results Men Women References * Results source: External links Official website ...

. He teamed up with Kosenkow to take third in the relay at the

2010 European Team Championships The second SPAR European Team Championships took place on 19 and 20 June 2010. The track and field athletics tournament run by European Athletics was the successor of the old European Cup competition which was held annually until 2008. The 20 ...

, then was an individual semi-finalist at the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, C ...

. He won his second national title at the start of 2011, topping the podium at the German Indoor Championships, but failed to get past the 60 m heats at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships. He was national runner-up in the 100 m again at the 2011 German Athletics Championships – this time to

Tobias Unger Tobias Benjamin Unger (born 10 July 1979 ) is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in sprints.

. He has a similar 2012 season, retaining his German indoor title and reaching the semi-finals at the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of fou ...

. After an absence during the 2013 season, he returned to top condition in the 2014 season. That year, the 27-year-old finally improved his 100 m best to 10.20 seconds, beating his previous mark which has stood since 2007. He won the fourth German 60 m title at the beginning of the year. He also helped the German relay quartet, including Sven Knipphals, Kosenkow and

Julian Reus Julian Reus (born 29 April 1988) is a German track and field athlete who competes in the 100 and 200 meters dash. His 100 m personal best of 10.01 seconds is the German record. Though unofficial according to IAAF regulations of a maximum +2.0& ...

, to second place at the

2014 European Team Championships The fifth European Athletics Team Championships took place on 21 and 22 June 2014. Calendar Super League Place: Eintracht-Stadion, Braunschweig, Germany Participating countries * * * * * * * * * * * * Men's events Women' ...

held in his native Germany. Blum equalled his 60 m best at the German Indoor Championships in 2015, winning in a time of 6.56 seconds. He finally reached an international individual podium at the 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships. Finishing behind the reigning world champion

Richard Kilty Richard Kilty (born 2 September 1989 in Middlesbrough) is a British sprinter who competes both Indoor and Outdoor across all the sprint events including 60 metres, 100 metres,150 metres, and 200 metres. A noted fast starter, and considered ...

, he edged out his compatriot Reus to claim the 60 m silver medal.2015 European Indoor Championships Men's 60metres final
. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-03-09.

Personal bests

;Outdoor *

– 10.20 (2014) *

– 20.85 (2007) ;Indoor *

– 6.56 (2009 & 2015) *

– 21.37 (2007) *All information from IAAF.

International competitions

National titles

: 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Christian Living people 1987 births People from Neubrandenburg German male sprinters German national athletics champions Sportspeople from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania