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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Sutton, ENG |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Sale Harriers : Sale, ENG |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Sports Science - University of Essex: Colchester, ENG |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Cars, motorbikes, quads. (Athlete, 31 Jul 2008) |
| Injuries | In January 2012 he injured his right Achilles tendon in his ankle at the Aviva International meet in Glasgow. (uk.eurosport.yahoo.com, 30 Jan 2012) He tore a hamstring in training before the World Championships at Berlin in 2009 which saw him miss the event. (uk.eurosport.yahoo.com, 30 Jan 2012) His 2008 campaign was marred by injuries. (England CWG Handbook Guide, 2010) |
| Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs | He always wears a bandage around his left ankle. (Athlete, 31 Jul 2008) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning gold at the 2009 European Championships after enduring injury, poor form and funding issues. (sportsvibe.co.uk, 08 Feb 2012) |
| Other sports | He was a promising footballer, playing for the Notts County as a youngster, before eventually switching to athletics. (NOC, 31 Jul 2008; England CWG Handbook Guide, 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | "Mainly it was my dad. He pushed me into athletics. It was one of those things where because he pushed me, I didn't like it at first but I grew to love it because it's such an exciting sport." |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | His family and coach Lloyd Cowan. (Athlete, 31 Jul 2008) |
| Hero / Idol | Hurdlers Colin Jackson, Tony Jarrett and Allen Johnson. He also admired Linford Christie growing up, "I suppose Linford Christie was my first athletics memory, I remember watching him win the Olympics gold [in 1992], obviously Colin Jackson as well." (Athlete, 31 Jul 2008; whenwewereheroes.com, 03 Dec 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Lloyd Cowan |
| Handedness | Right |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He took up athletics at age 13. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2003 |
| Competing for | Great Britain |
| Location | Leipzig |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Greengrass, named after a character in English television drama Heartbeat. (olympics.org.uk, 31 Jul 2008) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "I am in this sport to be the best. If I do not aim high, what is the point?" (timesonline.co.uk, 31 Jul 2008) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Coach from which country? | England |
General Interest | |
| Other information | TOUGH TIMES At the beginning of his career he was finding it difficult to earn a living and train at the same time. When he made his Great Britain senior debut at the 2003 European Cup in Leipzig, Germany, he ran in bargain-buy spikes. He was without a regular job, on housing benefit and needed to fund his training. He worked as a taxi driver and later worked twice a week at a warehouse on 15-hours shifts for £60 a day to maintain training. (telegraph.co.uk, 31 Jul 2008) LOTTERY FUNDING His lottery funding was withdrawn in 2008 after a season plagued by injuries but he regained the grant in late 2009. (andyturner110h.co.uk 04 Sept 2011) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Daughters Carmen and Jasmin. |