Sam Ellis (born 23 June 1982) is a British

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 ...

runner from

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. He won a bronze medal in the 800 m at the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champions ...

. He is coached by Alan Hastey and is on the World Class Podium funding programme. Ellis attended

Penistone Grammar School Penistone Grammar School (PGS) is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1392, it is the 45th oldest extant school in England with its most notable alumnus being Nicholas ...

and is a graduate from

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

in Architecture.

National and international career

Ellis was a member of Barnsley Athletics Club before joining City of Sheffield Athletic Club in 2007 and was formerly a 400m international, achieving a bronze medal at this distance in the 2000

Commonwealth Youth Games The Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) is an international multi-sport event organized by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The games were held in the years, mid-way between when the Commonwealth Games are held, until 2008. They continued to be held ...

held in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In 2004 he was a surprise winner of the 800m at the AAA National Championships, claiming his first senior AAA gold. Despite the win at the AAAs, which were also used as the Olympic trials, Ellis was not picked for the Olympics that year as he had not achieved the qualifying standard. Two years later, in 2006, Ellis had another successful run at the AAAs, this time winning the silver medal. Earlier in the season Ellis had set a new personal best at 800m of 1:45.67 which was within the qualifying mark for the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

held that year. The new personal best and the silver at the AAAs secured Ellis a place at the Europeans in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

: his first time representing Great Britain at a senior major championships. At the Europeans, after initially having a poor run in the first round of the competition, only scraping through as a fastest loser in a time 1:47.72 Ellis was more impressive in his semifinal qualifying by right for the final in third place. A tactically well run race in the final and a strong finish lead him to third place and his first major senior medal. Following on from his performance at the 2006 European Championships, Ellis was picked to represent the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team in the 800m at the ''Norwich Union International Great Britain v

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

'' meeting in Birmingham, held on 19 and 20 August 2006. In the race Ellis finished third for Great Britain, behind an American and a Russian runner, with a time of 1:47.98. Ellis' highest

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 ...

world ranking for the 800m is 44, achieved 26 March 2007.

Personal bests

Ellis set his 800 m personal best on 10 June 2006 at

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. His second fastest time ever over the distance is 1:46.64, set in the European Championship final in Gothenburg on 13 August 2006.

Outdoor

200 m 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 ...

- 22.20 (13 May 2000, Cudworth) *

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

- 47.61 (6 May 2002, Bedford) *

800 m 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 ...

- 1:45.67 (10 Jun 2006, Watford) *

Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

- 55.41 (31 Jul 2004, Cudworth) *

High jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

- 1.93 (27 Sep 1998, Grimsby)

Indoor

*400m - 48.48 (29 Jan 2006, Sheffield) *600m - 1:18.48 (26 Nov 2005, Sheffield) *800m - 1:49.33 (19 Feb 2005, Sheffield)

References

BBC Sport: European athletics: day 4, Men's 800m
- 10 August 2006
BBC Sport: British duo through to 800m final
- 11 August 2006
BBC Sport:Relay men lead GB medal rush
- 13 August 2006

* ttp://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=1828 Sam Ellis' profile at ''Power of 10''

External links

*
UK Athletics ProfileCity of Sheffield Athletic Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Sam 1982 births Living people English male middle-distance runners Sportspeople from Barnsley People educated at Penistone Grammar School European Athletics Championships medalists