Thomas Somers (born 28 April 1997) is a British
sprinter who specialises 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 tied
DaBryan Blanton for the second fastest 200 metres run by a
youth athlete, only behind
Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight- ...
, and was ranked as the fastest senior European athlete over the distance in 2014 while still competing as a youth.
A former England U16 rugby international, Somers initially took up athletics to complement his rugby training but after taking advice from
Adam Gemili
Adam Ahmed Gemili (born 6 October 1993) is a British sprinter. He is the 2014 European champion at 200 metres, and 4 x 100 metres relay, and part of the Great Britain team that won gold in the 2017 World Championships in the same event. He ...
quit rugby to do athletics full-time in late 2013.
In 2013, Somers represented Britain at the
World Youth Championships running a new PB in every round and finishing the final in 4th position with a time of 19.84 seconds.
In 2014 while still eligible to compete at youth level Somers represented Britain at the
2014 World Junior Championships where he ran a new personal best and
European Youth Best of 9.37 seconds in the semi-final before tiring in the final itself and finishing in 1st place.
In February 2015, Somers tore his hamstring in the semi-final of the 60m at the British Indoor Championships and after undergoing surgery he was ruled out from competition for the rest of the 2015 season.
References
External links
*
1997 births
British male sprinters
Living people
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