Deji Tobais (born 31 October 1991) is a British male

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 events ...

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

er who competes 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

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 ...

. He represented his country at age-category level including two medals at the European Athletics U23 Championships in 2013, where he set a European under-23 record in the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individu ...

Career

Raised in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

, Tobais lost his hearing in his left ear as a result of childhood

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

. He was a fast football player at primary school and his father took him to an

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), competiti ...

club at age ten, where his speed gave him an advantage. At Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletic Club, he began to focus on short sprinting and by 2006 he won the under-15 category at the AAA nationals in 100 m and 60 metres indoors. In 2008 he won the 100 m at the

English Schools' Athletics Championships The English Schools' Athletics Championships are annual national athletics competitions organised by the English Schools' Athletic Association ESAA for students in England aged 12–18 for track and field, cross country and race walking. The eve ...

as well as a 100/200 m double at the national under-17 championships.Deji Tobais
Power of 10. Retrieved 2018-02-25. Tobais earned his first international selection at the

2008 Commonwealth Youth Games The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games (Hindi: 2008 कॉमनवेल्थ यूथ गेम्स), officially known as the III Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Pune 2008, a regional sporting event that was held from 12 to 18 O ...

, coming fourth in the 100 m final. At the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19 to 25 July 2010. A total of 44 athletics ...

, he reached the semi-finals. The following year he ran in the heats for the

team, where Andrew Robertson, Kieran Showler-Davis,

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 a ...

and

Danny Talbot Danny Talbot (born 1 May 1991) is a retired British sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and the 200 metres. Career Talbot won the 200m bronze medal at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki. For Team GB in the 4 × 100 m ...

took the silver in the final. The 2012 season brought him new personal bests of 10.29 for the 100 m and 20.61 seconds for the 200 m. He maintained this form into 2013 and he came away with two medals at the

2013 European Athletics U23 Championships The 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships was the 9th edition of the biennial athletics competition between European athletes under the age of twenty-three. It was held in Tampere, Finland from 10 to 14 July. Russia topped the medal table with ...

, taking 100 m silver behind Adam Gemili, before teaming up with his compatriot to set a European under-23 record of 38.77 seconds. European U23 Championships: Johnson-Thompson wins gold
BBC Sport (2013-07-14). Retrieved 2018-02-25. A personal best of 10.18 seconds was the highlight of his 2014 season. He was fifth at the British Athletics Championships that year. His performances dropped thereafter and he failed to make the national 100 m final in the next three seasons.

International competitions

Personal bests

* 60 metres – 6.74 (2018) *

– 10.18 (2014) *

– 20.61 (2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tobais, Deji Living people 1991 births Sportspeople from Luton British male sprinters English male sprinters