Douglas "Doug" Turner (born 2 December 1966) is a British former

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 competed mainly in the

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 was the silver medallist at the

1998 European Athletics Championships The 17th European Athletics Championships were held from 18 August to 23 August 1998 in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. Men's results Track 1990 , 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , Field 1990 , 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , Women's resul ...

. His personal best for the 200 m was 20.43 seconds, set in 1996. He also represented Great Britain at the

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and Augu ...

and Wales at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in 1998 and 2002.

Career

Born in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

, Wales,Turner hangs up spikes

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

(22 October 2002). Retrieved 2 January 2016. he was a late starter and made his debut at a major outdoor international competition in his thirties. He ran in the heats only at the

1996 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1996 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Globe Arena, Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden from Friday, 8 March to Sunday, 10 March 1996.1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault. There were a total numb ...

.Douglas Turner
IAAF. Retrieved 2 January 2016. He came to prominence during a period of strong sprint competition in Wales, with

Christian Malcolm Christian Sean Malcolm (born 3 June 1979) is a retired Welsh track and field athlete who specialised in the 200 metres. In 2020 he was appointed Head Coach of the British Athletics Olympic Programme. Early life Malcolm was born and was brought ...

Jamie Baulch James Stephen Baulch (born 3 May 1973) is a retired Welsh sprint athlete and television presenter. He won the 400 metres gold medal at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. As a member of British 4 × 400 metres relay teams, he won a gold medal ...

and Tim Benjamin among his contemporaries. Both he and Malcolm were members of

Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club (Cardiff AAC) ( cy, Clwb Athletau Amatur Caerdydd), formed in 1882 as Roath (Cardiff) Harriers, is an athletics club based at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium, Cardiff. The club began as a cross country clu ...

and worked with coach Jock Anderson. At the national level, Turner won the 200 m Welsh title on three occasions, having back-to-back wins in 1995 and 1996 before taking his final title in 2001. His winning time of 20.54 seconds in 2001 was a record for the meet.Welsh Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2 January 2016. He was also twice a 200 m winner at the AAA Indoor Championships, topping the podium in 1996 and 2002.
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2 January 2016. He achieved his personal best of 20.43 seconds in 1996. He managed fifth for Great Britain at the

1998 IAAF World Cup 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, recording a time of 20.51 seconds, but failed to get past the semi-finals at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

. At that competition he was part of 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 ...

team and placed fourth in a team of Malcolm, James Henthorn, and Kevin Williams. The 1998 season proved to be the high point of his career. First he placed fifth at the

1998 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1998 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held from Friday, 27 February to Sunday, 1 March 1998 at the Palace of Luis Puig, Valencia, Spain.Douglas Turner
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved 2 January 2016. Following this he won his only major international medal in the 200 m final at the

, taking the silver medal as part of a British medal sweep alongside winner Douglas Walker and

Julian Golding Julian Emmanuel Golding is an English former international sprinter. Athletics career Golding was born in Harlesden, North West London. Attending St Augustine's Church of England High School in Kilburn, he enjoyed playing all sports before ...

.European Championships (Men)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2 January 2016. Turner ran at the

, but failed to make the final. His final year of competition came in 2002, when he ran in the 200 m heats at the

2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held from Friday, 1 March to Sunday, 3 March 2002 in Vienna, the capital city of Austria. This was the last edition to be held in an even year to avoid it occurring in the same year as the outdo ...

and was a semi-finalist at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

. Following these performances, and his advancing years, the national sports body Elite Cmyru dropped him from their funding programme, which brought about his retirement from the sport. He received a three-month doping ban after a positive test for

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...

in 2000. This also brought about an Olympic ban by 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 ...

, but an appeal to the body overturned the ban on the basis that only small traces were found in his system and that the consumption of the drug was unintentional.

Personal bests

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 ...

– 10.37 (2001) *

– 20.43 (1996) *

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 at ...

(indoor) – 6.69 (2002) *200 metres (indoor) – 20.59 (2002)

National titles

*Welsh Athletics Championships **200 m: 1995, 1996, 2001 *AAA Indoor Championships **200 m: 1996, 2002

International competitions

References

External links