Sam Atkin

Sam Atkin won the North of England cross-country under-17 men’s title in Blackburn. Also a keen footballer and tennis player as a teenager, in athletics he started with Grimsby Harriers and moved to Cleethorpes and eventually Lincoln Wellington, where he teamed up with coach Rob Lewis. In 2011, aged 18, he had the chance to study in the United States and went to College in Idaho. Atkin’s progress was also affected by a rare problem called Freiberg disease, where one of the metatarsals in his foot protrudes upwards, causing discomfort. After completing degrees in sports administration and business management, Atkin stayed in Idaho and also coaches other athletes.[2]

At the Sound Running Track Meet in California on 5 December 2020, Atkin ran the fourth fastest time by a British athlete over 10,000 metres behind only Mo Farah, Jon Brown and Eamonn Martin.[3] Despite starting that race as a pacemaker, he hit the Olympic qualifying time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where he represented Britain in the 10,000 metres race, but did not finish as he suffered an injury mid-race.[4][5]

On 27 January 2023 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic on a Boston University track, the 29-year-old broke Mo Farah's British 3000 m indoor record (7:33.1) with a time of 7:31.97. Atkin took 15 seconds off his personal best and set the fastest 3000 m (indoors or out) by a UK athlete in history as (Farah’s) outdoor record was 7:32.62 at the time.[6][7]

• 800 metres – 1:53.13 (Spokane, WA 2018)
  • 800 metres – 1:53.79 (Nampa, ID 2018)
• 1500 metres – 3:45.07 (Eugene, OR 2018)
• Mile – 3:58.60 (St. Louis, MO 2018)
  • Mile – 4:05.39 (Nampa, ID 2020)
• 3000 metres – 7:39.71 (Gateshead 2021)
  • 3000 metres – 7:31.97 NR (Boston, MA 2023)
• 5000 metres – 13:15.31 (Eugene, OR 2022)
  • 5000 metres – 13:03.64 (Boston, MA 2022)
• 10,000 metres – 27:26.58 (San Juan Capistrano, CA 2020)