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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Guernsey |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Guernsey Island Amateur Athletic Club / Newham & Essex Beagles [ENG]: Guernsey |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Coaching, Sport Studies - University of Bath: Bath, ENG |
General Interest | |
| Memorable sporting achievement | "I have a few I am proud of. My eighth place in the marathon at the 2010 European Championships in very hot conditions. I also had long-term ambition to run a sub four-minute mile when I was younger and I achieved that in 2005." (activetrainingworld.co.uk, 23 Jul 2012) |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2017 World Championships in London, England. (bbc.co.uk, 22 Apr 2016) |
| Awards and honours | He was named Athlete of the Year in 2011 by the Guernsey Sports Commission. (news.bbc.co.uk, 20 Jan 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Gavin Smith, from 2015 |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He has been involved in athletics and running since he was very young and has been actively coaching since the early 2000s. He began as a middle distance runner before progressing to the longer track distances and eventually shifting his focus towards the marathon. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete, Personal Trainer, Coach |
General Interest | |
| Other information | COACHING He is the founder, coach and main coordinator of Lee Merrien Running, a Guernsey-based coaching company that organises running groups for all standards, online coaching and personal training schedules. He is also in charge of senior endurance coaching at the Guernsey Athletics Club. (Lee Merrien Running Twitter profile, 27 May 2016; leemerrienrunning.com, 19 May 2016) 2012 OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION Originally he had not been chosen to be a part of Great Britain's team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, after he failed to run under the A standard qualifying time at the 2012 London Marathon, despite being the first British athlete to finish. His appeal against the decision not to be included was rejected, but after reconsidering their decision Great Britain squad selectors decided to make him a member of the team for the 2012 Games. (bbc.co.uk, 27 Apr 2012; leemerrien.blogspot.co.uk, 28 Apr 2012) EDUCATION He holds a HND in Coach Education & Sports Performance from the University of Bath, England, graduating in 2004. He is also a UK Athletics qualified coach and National Academy of Sports Medicine [NASM] performance enhancement specialist. (leemerrienrunning.com, 19 May 2016) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Wife Theresa, son Thomas, daughter Jessica. |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | After the 2012 Olympic Games in London, he did not compete in a marathon for three years due to injuries. He returned at the 2015 Berlin Marathon. (leemerrien.blogspot.com.co.uk, 24 Sep 2015) A stress fracture in his sacrum [bone at the bottom of the back where it meets the hips] picked up in June 2014 forced him out of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. He returned to competitive action in January 2015. (bbc.co.uk, 24 Jun 2014; 13 Jan 2015; leemerrien.blogspot.com.co.uk, 24 Sep 2015) In 2013 he suffered a double sports hernia. (leemerrien.blogspot.com.au, 05 Jan 2014) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | "My mum's family are from Newcastle and some of my uncles and aunts used to run the Great North Run. My uncle would come over to Guernsey most summers and I would go out running with him. When I got to secondary school I was offered a free membership to Guernsey Athletics Club after doing well in a school cross-country race and stayed with it from then on." |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | British rower Sir Steve Redgrave, and British runner Paula Radcliffe. (activetrainingworld.co.uk, 23 Jul 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Training Regime | He covers around 200km a week in training. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2008 |
| Competing for | Great Britain |
| Tournament | European Championships |
| Location | Brussels |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English |