| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 13 February 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 10,000 metres, cross country | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Morpeth Harriers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Rory Leonard (born 13 February 2001) is a British track and field athlete who competes as a long distance runner. In 2023, he won gold at the European U23 Athletics Championships over 10,000 metres. [1]
From Ampleforth, in Yorkshire, [2] he attended The King Edward VI School, Morpeth. [3] Leonard competed at the European Youth Olympics in 2018. From 2021, he attended Oklahoma State University where he studied English literature and philosophy. He runs for Morpeth Harriers. [4] He was coached by his father Tony as a youngster, and both his parents competed collegiately at the University of Arkansas, with his mother Sharon winning an English Schools silver medal in cross country in the 1980s. [5]
In 2019, he was English National under-20 cross country champion and subsequently raced for Great Britain at the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus. [6]
He finished 16th in 2021 and 11th in 2022 at the European Cross Country Championships. In 2023, he set personal best times over 3000m indoors (8:07.97) and 10,000m (28:21.30). [1] That year, he won gold at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships over 10,000 metres in Espoo. [3] He placed third in the 5lm race at the 2023 Great North Run in Newcastle upon Tyne in September 2023. [7]
In February 2024, he set a new personal best time of 13:31 in Monaco over 5km, which placed him seventh on the all time UK list. [8] In April 2024, he lowered that personal best to 13:29.54 in Battersea. [9] He ran a 10,000 metres personal best on the track in London in May 2024, running 27:38.39. [10] That month, he was selected to run the 10,000 metres for Britain at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome. [11]
He was selected for the British team for the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey where he finished ninth and won the bronze medal in the team race with Great Britain. [12] [13]
Leonard broke the British men's 10km road race record at the 10K Valencia, Spain, on 12 January 2025, recording a time of 27 minutes 38 seconds, which took six seconds off the previous mark set by Mo Farah in 2010 and equalled by Emile Cairess in 2022. [14]
Sifan Hassan is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world-leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second of three women to complete an Olympic distance double. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Hassan secured a bronze medal in both the women's 5,000 m and 10,000 m events and gold in the women's marathon, becoming the only woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres and Marathon races.
Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the current world record holder for the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres, and held the world best time over the 15 kilometres distance.
Yemaneberhan "Yeman" Crippa is an Ethiopian-born Italian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze for the 5000 metres at the European Athletics Championships in 2022, and bronze in the 10,000 m in 2018. Crippa claimed five medals in the age-group races at the European Cross Country Championships an Individual Bronze Medal in the Senior race in 2019 and followed up with an Individual Silver Medal performance at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships.
Amy-Eloise Neale OLY is a British middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 3000 metres at the 2021 European Indoor Championships.
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Nick Goolab is a British distance runner. He is the former British 5k record holder, previously held the English 5k and 10k titles concurrently, and has represented Great Britain at World and European cross country and track championships.
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Emile Michael John Cairess is a British long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 European Under-23 Championships and a silver for the men's race at the 2022 European Cross Country Championships. Cairess is the European record holder for the road 10 miles. He finished 4th in Marathon in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the highest position for a British runner for over 20 years.
2023 in athletics is a year of track and field, highlighted by the main event of 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, 40 years after the very first edition in 1983.
Poppy Tank is a British steeplechaser and long distance runner. She has represented Great Britain at senior level and in 2023, she became the British national champion in the 3000m steeplechase.
Megan Keith is a British track and field athlete and cross country runner. She was the 2023 European U23 champion over 5,000 metres and won a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2024 European Athletics Championships.
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Will Barnicoat is a British track and field athlete and cross country runner. He was European U20 cross country champion in 2022, and became European U23 cross country champion in 2023 and 2024.
Etienne Daguinos is a French middle- and long-distance runner. He is the current holder of the European Record for the 10km, set on November, 16th at 27:04. 2024. With a 5000 metres best of 13:15.26, he was the 2022 Mediterranean Athletics U23 Championships gold medallist and he represented France at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships.
Alice Goodall is a British track and field athlete who competes in long distance and cross country running. In 2023, she won gold at the European U23 Athletics Championships over 10,000 metres.
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European Athletics U23 Championships champions in men's 10,000 metres | |
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