Michael Rimmer

Three-time Olympian Michael Rimmer is an English middle-distance runner who won a silver medal in the 800m at the 2010 European Championships. He is the first British male runner to win national titles at both senior level and through three different age groups including under 15, 17 and 20. In 2010 he became the fastest British athlete at the 800m distance for over 17 years when he set his personal best of 1:43.89 in Rieti, also placing himself 6th on the “all time” fastest list in the UK.

Born in Southport , Rimmer was tipped for success at an early age by the legendary Peter Elliot. He started out running for Southport Waterloo AC before moving to his current club, Liverpool Pembroke Sefton, and emerged onto the athletics scene when he won the 800m at the AAA Championships in 2006. He finished eighth in the European Championships final the same year, and in 2007 he qualified to represent team GB at the World Championships held in Osaka where he reached the semi0finals.

In 2008 he broke the 1.45 barrier for the first time in his athletics career, running 1:44.68 before making reaching the semi-final at the Beijing Summer Olympics despite an unlucky build-up to the Games when he suffered food poisoning. Two years later he made history when he won his fifth consecutive national senior title in Birmingham, and also won his first major championship medal finishing behind Marcin Lewandowski at the European Championships in Barcelona.

Famous for his trademark ‘lucky’ t-shirt which he always wears underneath his running vest, Rimmer recently launched an online running coach with his partner, fellow Team GB athlete Eilish McColgan.