Dominic King (athlete)

Dominic King
Personal information
Nationality British
Born (1983-05-30) 30 May 1983[1]
Colchester, Essex[2]
Residence Colchester, Essex
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
Country  United Kingdom
 England
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Racewalking
Club Colchester Harriers
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 50k walk - 4.06.34
Updated on 16 July 2012.

Dominic King (born 30 May 1983) is a British racewalker. He was selected for the British team in the men's 50 km walk at the 2012 Summer Olympics, having previously competed for England in the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Career

King originally took up racewalking after being encouraged by his athletics club's coach.[3] He competed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games at the age of 19, but was disqualified during the fifth lap after being in fourth place.[4] At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he finished in seventh place.[3]

King took a four-year break from international competition prior to competing at a 2012 World Cup event in Saransk, Russia, where he finished in 51st place with his second-fastest time ever.[5] At the Dudinska 50 km in Dudince, Slovakia, he set a new personal best of four hours, six minutes 34 seconds, eight minutes faster than his previous best. This placed him within the Olympic "B" qualifying time for the 2012 Summer Olympics of 4 hours and 9 minutes.[6][7]

King suffered from a sleepless night after selectors did not let him know of his inclusion in the British team for the Games prior to the public announcement. The selectors had previously informed him that he would find out the day before the announcement.[7] He was named as a member of the British squad, after being the only British athlete to achieve the qualifying time in the men's 50 km walk.[7] King is the first competitor in the event for Great Britain since Chris Maddocks who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics.[5] Prior to the Olympics, he underwent altitude training with other members of the British squad in the Pyrenees.[7] In the walk, he finished 51st, posting the time of 4:15.05. On the final lap, he gave hi-fives to members of the supportive home-crowd and games makers. His was the last ranked result of all participants of the walk.[8]

Just one month after the 2012 Olympic Games, Dominic won the National Long Distance Walking Championships, completing 100 miles in 18 hours, 13 minutes and 9 seconds, and becoming centurion number C1098.

Personal life

King lives in Colchester, and races for the Colchester Harriers club. He works at the University of Essex.[7] He has a twin brother named Daniel, who is also a racewalker, and Dominic's training partner.[5] Daniel raced against Dominic at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and finished higher than his twin, in 5th position.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Dominic King". Team GB. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Dwain Chambers selected for Olympics as Team GB athletics team is announced". The Independent. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 Jolly, Daniel (11 June 2012). "London 2012: GB’s Dominic King aiming to compete with the best". The Sport Review. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "Saville eases Sydney pain". BBC Sport. 28 July 2002. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 "King's Games goal". Eurosport. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Dominic King receives Olympic call". Daily Gazette. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Marston, Carl (7 July 2012). "Race walker Dominic King looks forward to his Olympics debut". London24. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  8. ↑ "Men's 50km Race Walk". 2012 Summer Olympics official website. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "European Cup call for Carnegie athletes". Leeds Metropolitan University. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
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