Thomas Somers (sprinter)

Thomas Somers
Personal information
Born (1997-04-28) April 28, 1997 (age 27)
Yorkshire, England
Sport
Country Great Britain
SportAthletics
Event200 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 m: 10.38 ([London, 2023)
200 m: 20.37 (Eugene 2014)

Thomas Somers (born 28 April 1997) is a British sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres. He tied DaBryan Blanton for the second fastest 200 metres run by a youth athlete, only behind Usain Bolt, and was ranked as the fastest senior European athlete over the distance in 2014 while still competing as a youth.[1][2] A former England U16 rugby international, Somers initially took up athletics to complement his rugby training but after taking advice from Adam Gemili quit rugby to do athletics full-time in late 2013.[3]

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 20.84 seconds.[3][4] 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 20.37 seconds in the semi-final before tiring in the final itself and finishing in 1st place.[5][6][7]

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.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "200 Metres - men - senior - outdoor - 2014 | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Tom Somers, City of York AC, smashes it at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, USA - City of York Athletic Club". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Young athlete - Thomas Somers - Athletics Weekly". athleticsweekly.com. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  4. ^ "200 Metres Result - 8th IAAF World Youth Championships | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  5. ^ "200 Metres Summary - IAAF World Junior Championships 2014 | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  6. ^ "British Athletics Official WebsiteSomers ready to Bolt on in 2015". britishathletics.org.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  7. ^ "City of York Athletic Club sprint star Tom Somers second only to legendary Usain Bolt in 200m age group rankings (From York Press)". yorkpress.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Bolt from the blue: Olympic hero Usain's support for City of York sprint star Tom Somers (From York Press)". yorkpress.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
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