Derek John Hawkins (born 29 April 1989) is a British

distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

. He competed in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

and placed 114th.

Personal life

Hawkins was born on 29 April 1989. His younger brother

Callum Callum is a Scottish Gaelic name that commemorates the Latin name Columba, meaning 'dove'. Callum was popular among early Christians because the dove was a symbol of purity, peace and the Holy Spirit. St. Columba was one of the most influential of ...

is also a long-distance runner. In addition to his training schedule he worked part-time in a local

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

. In 2016 he and Callum launched Hawkins Running, an online coaching service for distance runners.

Athletics

Hawkins won the Scottish cross country championships in 2011 and 2012. In 2012 he ran his first marathon, competing in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and finishing in a time of two hours 14 minutes and 4 seconds. At the 2013 London Marathon, in his second competition over the distance, he was the highest placed British athlete, finishing 13th in a time of two hours 16 minutes and 51 seconds. This result qualified him for 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 ...

, but Hawkins decided not to compete in Moscow in order to focus on his preparation for 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 ...

. Hawkins competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, representing the host nation in the men's marathon. He finished ninth in a time of two hours 14 minutes and 15 seconds, 11 seconds slower than his personal best, but was the highest finishing British athlete in a race won by Australia's Michael Shelley. At the

2016 London Marathon The 2016 London Marathon was the 36th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 24 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Kenyan Jemima Sumgong. Th ...

, Hawkins finished 14th overall, and was the third British-qualified athlete to finish, in a personal best time of two hours 12 minutes and 57 seconds. This time was inside the qualifying time of two hours 14 minutes needed for the

to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil but as he was outside of the top two British finishers he did not achieve automatic selection for the Great Britain team. He was later chosen as a selectors pick for the Games and will be joined in the men's marathon by fellow British athletes,

Tsegai Tewelde Tsegai Tewelde (born 8 December 1989) is an Eritrean-born British distance runner, who competed in the marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Personal life Tewelde was born in Eritrea on 8 December 1989. At the age of eight, he was injured in a la ...

and his brother Callum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Derek 1989 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Scottish male marathon runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Scotland Sportspeople from Renfrewshire