Dominic King (born 30 May 1983) is a British

racewalker Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

. He was selected for the British team in the men's 50 km walk at the 2012 Summer Olympics, having previously competed for England in the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Career

King originally took up

racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

after being encouraged by his athletics club's coach. He competed in 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 ...

at the age of 19, but was disqualified during the fifth lap after being in fourth place. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he finished in seventh place. King took a four-year break from international competition prior to competing at a 2012 World Cup event in

Saransk Saransk (russian: Саранск, p=sɐˈransk; mdf, Саранск ошсь, Saransk oš; myv, Саран ош, Saran oš) is the capital city of the Republic of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located ...

, Russia, where he finished in 51st place with his second-fastest time ever. At the Dudinska 50 km in Dudince,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, he set a new personal best of four hours, six minutes 34 seconds, eight minutes faster than his previous best. This placed him within the Olympic "B" qualifying time for the 2012 Summer Olympics of 4 hours and 9 minutes. King suffered from a sleepless night after selectors did not let him know of his inclusion in the British team for the Games prior to the public announcement. The selectors had previously informed him that he would find out the day before the announcement. He was named as a member of the British squad, after being the only British athlete to achieve the qualifying time in the men's 50 km walk. King is the first competitor in the event for Great Britain since

Chris Maddocks Christopher ("Chris") Lloyd Maddocks (born 28 March 1957) is a male retired race walker from Great Britain. He competed in five consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1984. In his final competitive race, the 50 ...

who competed at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. Prior to the Olympics, he underwent altitude training with other members of the British squad in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. In the walk, he finished 51st, posting the time of 4:15.05. On the final lap, he gave hi-fives to members of the supportive home-crowd and games makers. His was the last ranked result of all participants of the walk. Just one month after the 2012 Olympic Games, Dominic won the National Long Distance Walking Championships, completing 100 miles in 18 hours, 13 minutes and 9 seconds, and becoming centurion number C1098. In 2019, he competed in the men's 50 kilometres walk at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...

held in Doha, Qatar. He was disqualified after a fourth red card.

Personal life

King lives in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

, and races for the Colchester Harriers club. He works at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...

. He has a twin brother named Daniel, who is also a racewalker, and Dominic's training partner. Daniel raced against Dominic at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and finished higher than his twin, in 5th position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Dominic Living people 1983 births Sportspeople from Colchester English male racewalkers British male racewalkers Olympic male racewalkers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for England Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain British Athletics Championships winners