Ben Connor

For the railway engineer, see Benjamin Connor.

Ben Connor
Man in white top and blue shorts running, with mud on his legs.
Connor in 2018
Personal information
Born (1992-10-17) 17 October 1992 (age 32)
Sport
SportAthletics
ClubDerby Athletics Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best1:00:55 (half marathon)
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Cross country running
English National Cross Country Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Nottingham Cross country
Middle-distance running
British Athletics Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Highgate 10,000 m

Ben Connor (born 17 October 1992)[1] is a British runner who won the Night of 10,000m PBs event at the 2019 British Athletics Championships and the 2017 English National Cross Country Championships. Connor competed in the marathon event at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Career

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Connor is a member of Derby Athletics Club.[2] He has trained with Ray Treacy in the US,[3] and in Manchester, United Kingdom.[3][2] From 2019, Connor has been self-coached.[3]

In 2017, Connor won the English National Cross Country Championships.[3] In the same year, he came sixth at the 2017 European Cross Country Championships,[4] and fifth at the Night of 10,000m PBs race.[2] In 2018, Connor came eighth at the Barcelona Half Marathon in a personal best time of 1:01:12. It was the eighth fastest time in history by a Briton.[5] Connor was a favourite for the 2018 Night of 10,000m PBs race.[2]

In 2019, Connor won the British Championships Night of 10K PBs event.[3] In the same year, he also won the Podium 5k event,[6] and competed in the 5,000 metres event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships.[3] In 2020, he ran a half-marathon personal best time of 1:00:55 in Antrim. He finished third in the race, and it was the fourth fastest half marathon time by a Briton ever.[7] Later in the year, he competed in the 2020 London Marathon, his first ever marathon event.[3] Connor was the second highest finishing Briton in the race. He finished 10 seconds quicker than the Olympic qualifying time.[8] Connor and Jonny Mellor had been battling for most of the race, before Mellor dropped Connor with 6 miles (9.7 km) to go to take the British winner's prize at the event.[9] Connor finished 15th overall in the race.[10] Later in the year, he came fourth in a cross country race in Lancashire after losing a shoe early in the event.[11]

Connor competed at the 2021 British Athletics Marathon and 20km Walk Trial. The qualification criteria for the Olympics was to meet the qualifying time in a race since January 2019, and to finish in the top two at the trial event. He finished second in the men's marathon race, and therefore qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[12] Connor spent the race in the leading pack with Mo Aadan and Dewi Griffiths, but they were overtaken by Chris Thompson prior to the final lap of the race.[12] He did not finish the Olympic marathon race.[13] Connor finished fifth at the 2022 Night of 10,000m PBs race. He was the third British finisher.[14]

Personal life

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Connor is in a relationship with fellow runner Lily Partridge.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Ben Connor". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ben Connor talks Night of 10,000m PBs and training". Fast Running. 18 May 2018. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ben Connor aims for Olympic qualifier in marathon debut". Athletics Weekly. 3 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  4. ^ "SPAR European Cross Country Championships 2017" (PDF). European Athletics (pdf). 10 December 2017. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Ben Connor and Luke Traynor star at Barcelona Half Marathon". Fast Running. 11 February 2018. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Ben Connor & Jess Judd shine over the 5k distance, whilst Josh Kerr breaks British U23 record – Weekend roundup". Fast Running. 16 June 2019. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Antrim Coast Half Marathon wins for Mo Farah and Lily Partridge". Athletics Weekly. 12 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  8. ^ "London Marathon 2020: Eliud Kipchoge beaten as Shura Kitata takes title". BBC Sport. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Cockram and Mellor are the Top Brits and Weir Takes Second". UK Athletics. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  10. ^ "World record holder Eliud Kipchoge dethroned as Shura Kitata sprints to men's London Marathon title". The Daily Telegraph. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Quirk and Millington conquer the country at Podium XC". Athletics Weekly. 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  12. ^ a b "GB Marathon Trials: Chris Thompson and Stephanie Davis take Tokyo Olympics spots". BBC Sport. 26 March 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge successfully defends Olympic marathon title". BBC Sport. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Judd has the world in her hands at Highgate". Athletics Weekly. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
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