Hannah England (born 6 March 1987) is a British

middle-distance running Middle-distance running events are Track and field#Running, track races longer than Sprint (running), sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be clas ...

athlete who specialised in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

and

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

. At 1500 m, she is the 2011 World Championship silver medallist and finished fourth at the 2013 World Championships. She also competed at the

2012 Olympic Games 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 ...

in London. England is one of only five British women in history (as of 2019) to have run under two minutes for 800 m and nine minutes for

3000 m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

, the others being

Christina Boxer Christina Tracy Boxer-Cahill (born 25 March 1957) is a retired female middle distance athlete from England. She represented Great Britain at three Olympic Games, in Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 and trained at Aldershot, Farn ...

Kirsty Wade Kirsty Wade (née McDermott, born 6 August 1962) is a British former middle-distance runner. She is a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist representing Wales, winning the 800 metres in Brisbane 1982 and both the 800 metres and 1500 me ...

Jessica Judd Jessica Warner-Judd (born 7 January 1995) is an English middle- and long-distance runner. She won two individual medals in the Under-20 and U23 age-group races at the European Cross Country Championships and a gold medal for the 5000 metres ...

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 ...

. She announced her retirement from athletics on 14 January 2020.

Biography

Born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England, she attended the

Cherwell School The Cherwell School is a secondary school with academy status on the Marston Ferry Road in Oxford, England. The current school site was built in 1963 as a secondary modern school, later becoming the main comprehensive school for North Oxford, ...

in Summertown,

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College. Overview The le ...

. England joined Oxford City Athletic Club as an under 13, her first major success coming in the UK Athletics Reebok Cross Country Challenge in Birmingham as an Under 15. In 2005 England joined

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

to study

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. Winning the national junior title in the 1500 m and competing at the World Junior Championships. As part of her degree studies, she spent a year at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. During her time there, she competed for the university's track team at the

NCAA Track and Field Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges a ...

, winning the mile run indoors and the 1500 m outdoors. She returned to the United Kingdom and finished third in the 1500 m at the 2008 national championships. However, World Junior Champion Stephanie Twell was selected ahead of her for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and England attended the Games as a reserve but did not compete. The following season she competed in the 1500 m at the

2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held in Turin, Italy, from Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 8 March 2009. The championships took place at the Oval Lingotto indoor arena

, but did not progress beyond the heats after a below-par performance.England, Hannah biography

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 30 June 2009. She set a personal best of 4:05.87 at the

Fanny Blankers-Koen Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen (26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earn ...

Games in

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. Popu ...

, finishing seventh and beating Olympic champion Nancy Lagat. England set an 800 m personal best of 1:59.94 at the

2009 European Team Championships The first European Athletics Team Championships took place on 20 and 21 June 2009. 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 Ch ...

and managed fourth place in both 800 and 1500 metres events, helping the Great Britain team to a third-place finish. Qualification for the 2009 World Championships in the 1500 metres was going to be hard, as four British athletes had achieved the time required, but only three entrants per event were allowed. As Charlene Thomas surprisingly won the British trials, she was selected by default. Lisa Dobriskey, who had finished 4th at the Beijing Olympics the previous year and was still in good form, was also selected on merit; the last remaining place was between England and Stephanie Twell. As Twell had a faster time that season, as well as higher youth achievement, she was selected over England. Dobriskey went on to win a silver medal at the World Championships. At the

2009 IAAF World Athletics Final The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics m ...

, England qualified for 1500 metres as one of the top twelve athletes of the season. She finished second in the race, behind only Olympic Champion Nancy Jebet Lagat and beating among others reigning

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Maryam Yusuf Jamal Maryam Yusuf Jamal ( ar, مريم يوسف جمال; om, Maryam Yuusuf Jamaal) (born Zenebech Tola) (born 16 September 1984) is an Ethiopian-born Bahraini middle-distance runner. She is the first Bahraini athlete to win an Olympic medal, a gold ...

. In 2010 England finished a strong second in the 1500m at the European Team Championships in Bergen, Norway and followed it up with a national AAA title, again at 1500m, to secure selection for the European Championships in Barcelona running a startling 56.7 last lap, albeit in a very slow race. On 1 September 2011 at the IAAF World Athletics Championship, competing in the 1500m final, Hannah produced a stunning final 100 metres, coming from 7th place at the final bend to take the Silver medal in a time of 4:05.68.

Personal

She is the daughter of Oxford geophysicist, Professor Philip England and in 2012 she married fellow Great Britain athlete

Luke Gunn Luke Gunn (born 22 March 1985) is a British male track and field athlete who competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He married fellow athlete Hannah England in 2013. Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Luke Gunn studied Sport and Materia ...

International competitions

National titles

* UK Championships 1500 m (2010, 2011, 2013) *UK Indoor Championships 3000 m (2012) *

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

1500 m (2008) * NCAA Indoor Championships 1500 m (2008)

Personal bests

References

External links

*

Official Facebook Fan Page
Interview
with

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British ...

"How Kelly Holmes helped me reach the top"
''Spikes Mag'' article {{DEFAULTSORT:England, Hannah 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Oxford British female long-distance runners English female long-distance runners British female middle-distance runners English female middle-distance runners Olympic female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for England Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists British Athletics Championships winners Alumni of the University of Birmingham Florida State Seminoles women's track and field athletes Florida State University alumni