Julian Emmanuel Golding is an English former international sprinter.[1]

Julian Golding
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
Born (1975-02-17) 17 February 1975 (age 49)
Harlesden, North West London
Sport
SportAthletics
Medal record
Athletics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Kuala Lumpur 200m
Gold medal – first place 1998 Kuala Lumpur 4x100m relay
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Athens 4x100m relay
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Budapest 200m

Athletics career

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Golding was born in Harlesden, North West London. Attending St Augustine's Church of England High School in Kilburn, he enjoyed playing all sports before taking up athletics seriously in 1991. He was discovered by former Olympic sprinter Mike McFarlane,[2] after finishing second at the Westminster Schools Athletics Competition.

At the 1998 European Athletics Championships, Golding was favourite to win the gold medal in the 200 metres. After running a series of fast times and winning both heats and semi-finals convincingly, he was beaten by teammate Dougie Walker in the final, winning a bronze medal.

In the same year, he represented England and won two gold medals in the 200 metres and 4 x 100 metres relay, at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3][4][5] In the 200 metres he set a personal best time of 20.34 seconds in the semi-finals. In the 4 x 100 metres sprint relay, the team ran a new Commonwealth Games record of 38.20 seconds. He also helped the Great British 4 x 100-metre relay team to victory in the 1998 IAAF World Cup and European Cup, as well as running the last leg at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, in which Britain won bronze.

During the 1999 athletic season, Golding won the national title in 20.20 seconds (wind assisted) and continued that form, winning some high profile international Grand Prix events. The Crystal Grand Prix is considered to be one of Golding's best performances; he won the 200 metres from a world class field in the time of 20.23 seconds, running into a strong headwind of −1.1 metres per second. Golding went on to finish 7th in the final of the 1999 World Championships in Seville, and finished the year ranked number nine in the world.

He was part of Team GB's 4 x 100-metre relay team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, but the team were disqualified in the first round. He failed to qualify for his preferred event, due to illness at the Olympic Trials.[2]

Golding's last major competition was in 2003, where he represented Great Britain at the Paris World Championships. Three years later, he was forced to retire prematurely due to persistent injuries.

Personal life

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On 18 July 2012, Golding graduated from Middlesex University with First Class Honours for Sports and Exercise Science with Teaching & Coaching.[6] Julian is now a qualified P.E teacher working at St Mary Magdalene's Secondary Phase.

Personal bests

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His time of 20.18 seconds (−0.2) ranks him sixth on the 200 metres All-Time UK rankings, with only John Regis, Christian Malcolm, Linford Christie, Darren Campbell and Adam Gemili ahead of him.

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing the   United Kingdom and   England
1994 World Junior Championships Lisbon, Portugal 8th 100m 10.46 (wind: +1.2 m/s)
9th (sf) 200m 21.21 (wind: +1.9 m/s)
1st 4 × 100 m relay 39.60
1997 European U23 Championships Turku, Finland 1st 200m 20.46 (wind: +0.3 m/s)
1st 4 × 100 m relay 38.99
World Championships Athens, Greece 3rd 4 × 100 m relay 38.14
1998 European Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd 200 metres 20.72
1st 4 × 100 m relay 38.52
Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st 200 metres 20.18
1st 4 × 100 m relay 38.20
2000 European Indoor Championships Ghent, Belgium 3rd 200 metres 21.05

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Profile". World Athletics.
  2. ^ a b "Golding leaves the dark days behind". The Guardian.
  3. ^ "1998 Athletes". Team England.
  4. ^ "England team in 1998". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  5. ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  6. ^ "Former Olympic athlete and Commonwealth Games gold medallist". Middlesex University.
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