Liam Killeen (born 12 April 1982), is a British professional

mountain biker Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

. He represented England in cross country racing 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 2002 where he came 3rd, and became Commonwealth Champion in 2006. He has won the British Mountain Biking National Champion over five consecutive years; 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. He competed for Great Britain at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics and was chosen as the sole male cross-country rider for the British team for the London Games in 2012.

Early life

Killeen had been interested in cycling from a young age, but a trip to the Malvern Classic introduced him to cross-country cycling when he was about thirteen. He had previously been interested in

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

Career

Having won multiple titles both at the junior and Under-23 levels, he competed 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 ...

in Manchester, where he took the bronze medal. Despite having won his first major medal at the international level, he continued to compete in Under-23 events, winning the silver medal at the Under-23 World Championship in 2004. Prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics, he won the test event on the Olympic track in Greece. Competing in the Games themselves for the British team, he was held up by a crash early on in the race and ended up finishing in fifth place, outside of the medal spots. He returned to the English team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. Having placed third at the previous Games, he went two places better, taking the gold medal for his country. In 2007, he suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome and could not compete for an entire season. He competed once more for the British team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and was considered one of the favourites for the gold medal. Only into the race, his handlebars clipped a race marker, flipping him over the bars and off the bike. This left him in last place chasing the rest of the pack, but he managed to move up to seventh place by the finish. He did not get the chance to defend his gold medal at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

as mountain biking had been dropped from the games, replaced by archery in the schedule. He considered a switch to road racing to take part in the Games. He was selected as part of the British team to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he hoped to achieve a podium finish, but crashed out on the second lap of the race. He was the only athlete competing for Britain in the men's cross country. As part of his training, he conducted practice runs at the Olympic track near

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

. He competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, finishing in 6th place.

Major results

Mountain Bike

Source: ;2002 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National Under-23 XC Championships ;2003 : 1st Jersey white

Overall UCI Under-23 XC World Cup :1st Evathlon :1st Roc d'Azur :1st European Cup No. 2 :1st UK National Point Series :1st European Cup No. 1 ;2004 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National Under-23 XC Championships : 1st Jersey white

Overall UCI Under-23 XC World Cup :1st

NORBA Norba, an ancient town of Latium (''Adjectum''), Italy. It is situated 1 mile northwest of the modern town of Norma, on the western edge of the Volscian Mountains or Monti Lepini. The town is perched above a precipitous cliff with a splendid v ...

Pro Men's XC, Mount Snow, Vermont (USA) : 5th Cross-country,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

;2005 :1st NPS XC #5 – Sherwood Pines (GBR) :1st NORBA XC #4 – Schweitzer Mtn (USA) :1st Firecracker 50 Marathon – Breckenridge (USA) :1st World Cup MX #3 – Mt Sainte Anne (CAN) ;2006 : 1st Gold medal blank

Cross-country,

:British National Series XC No. 4 (GBR) – 1st ;2008 : 1st NORBA Marathon #2 – Nova (USA) : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National XC Championships : 7th Cross-country,

;2009 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National XC Championships : National XC Series ::1st Crow Hill ::1st Margam Park ;2010 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National XC Championships : National XC Series ::1st Dalby Forest ::1st Wasing Park ::2nd Margam Park ;2011 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National XC Championships : National XC Series ::1st Wasing Park ::1st Newnham Park ;2012 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National XC Championships : National XC Series ::1st Sherwood Pines ::1st Dalby Forest ;2014 : 2nd National XC Championships : National XC Series ::2nd Cannock Chase ;2015 : National XC Series ::1st Cannock Chase ::2nd Builth Wells ;2016 : National XC Series ::1st Newnham Park ::1st Builth Wells ::2nd Pembrey Country Park : 3rd National XC Championships

Cyclo-cross

;2004 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National Under-23 CX Championships ;2016 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National CX Championships

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Killeen, Liam 1982 births Living people English male cyclists English people of Irish descent Cross-country mountain bikers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Cyclists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Great Britain People from Malvern, Worcestershire Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling Sportspeople from Worcestershire