Stephanie April "Steph" Twell (born 17 August 1989) is a British middle- and long-distance runner who competed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She trains at Aldershot, Farnham & District AC. She won the 1500 metres at the 2008 World Junior Championships,[4] and is a three-time winner of the European Junior Cross Country Championships (2006–2008), as well as being part of four winning Great Britain teams. Representing Scotland, she won a bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Twell is currently sponsored by sports company Hoka One One[5] and was previously sponsored by New Balance. She was coached by one of the nation's leading endurance coaches, Mick Woods, for 19 years, from 1998 to 2017. She is now self-coached.
Personal life
editTwell was born in Colchester, England. Twell announced in 2009 that she would compete for Scotland rather than England, and represented Scotland at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games. She is eligible to compete for Scotland as her mother is from Paisley. She married fellow runner Joe Morwood in the autumn of 2018.[6] In May 2019, the couple broke the world record for the fastest 1 mile while holding hands.[7]
Career
editTwell's personal best time for the 1500 metres is 4:02.70, set in Barcelona, Spain on 1 August 2010. She competed in the women's 1500 metres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was eliminated in her heats running 4:06.68.[8]
In September 2008, Twell was named European Athletics Rising Star of 2008.[9] In January 2009 she was named "Telegraph Ten for 2012" – 10 of Britain's brightest young sports stars in The Daily Telegraph.[10][11]
She began the 2009 cross country season well, winning at the Antrim International Cross Country.[12] A few months later, Twell finished 38th in the 2009 World Cross Country Championships in Jordan. Although she was the fastest Briton in the race, she was disappointed with her performance and stated that she resolved to do better in the next championships.[13]
She set a new personal best in the 5000 metres in May 2009, winning the Artur Takac Memorial in 15:18.47 – a meeting record.[14]
She had a disappointing run at the 2009 European Team Championships over 3000 m, finishing in fourth in a time well outside her PB. At the 2009 World Championships she was never in contention in her heat at 1500 m and then when one of the favourites she was only 11th in the European Cross Country Championships (under 23 race).
Her 2010 was marked by improvements in her personal bests on the track. She set a 1500 metres best at the Weltklasse Zurich Diamond League meeting, finishing third and ahead of Lisa Dobriskey with a time of 4:02.54.[15] Stepping up to the 5000 m at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels, she smashed her previous best by 22 seconds to set a new Scottish record of 14.54.08, breaking Yvonne Murray's 15-year-old mark.[16] She ran at the Women's 5K Challenge in London in August 2010 and took third place behind Sylvia Kibet and Linet Masai. Reflecting on the race, she said: "To run 15:32 is great for me and third was just what I aimed for."[17] Twell suffered a fractured ankle competing in a cross-country race in Belgium in February 2011.[18] A further foot injury in June 2012 ended her hopes of competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[19]
Twell won the London 10,000 in 2018 and 2019.[20]
Competition record
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Great Britain /  Scotland
| |||||
| 2005 | European Youth Olympic Festival | Lignano, Italy | 5th | 1500 m | 4:29.91 |
| 2006 | World Junior Championships | Beijing, China | 8th | 1500 m | 4:16.58 |
| European Junior Cross Country Championships | San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy | 1st | 4.1 km | 12:33 | |
| 2007 | European Junior Cross Country Championships | Toro, Spain | 1st | 4.2 km | 14:12 |
| European Junior Championships | Hengelo, Netherlands | 2nd | 1500 m | 4:16.03 | |
| 2008 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 1st | 1500 m | 4:15.09 |
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 7th | 3000 m | 8:50.89 | |
| Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 6th (h) | 1500 m | 4:06.68 | |
| European Junior Cross Country Championships | Brussels, Belgium | 1st | 4.2 km | 13:28 | |
| 2009 | World Cross Country Championships | Amman, Jordan | 38th | 8 km | 28:46 |
| European Cross Country Championships | Fingal, Ireland | 11th | 21:42 | ||
| European Team Championships Super League | Leiria, Portugal | 4th | 3000 m | 9:09.65 | |
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 7th | 1500 m | 4:02.70 |
| Commonwealth Games | Delhi, India | 3rd | 1500 m | 4:06.19 | |
| 4th | 5000 m | 16:03.91 | |||
| World Cross Country Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 23rd | 7.8 km | 26:11 | |
| 2013 | World Cross Country Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 40th | 8 km | 25:58 |
| 2014 | European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country | Albufeira, Portugal | 7th[21] | Individ. | |
| Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, Scotland | 14th | 5000 m | 16:30.66 | |
| 2015 | European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country[21] | Guadalajara, Spain | 4th[21] | Individ. | 21:12 |
| World Championships | Beijing, China | 12th | 5000 m | 15:26.24 | |
| 2016 | World Indoor Championships | Portland, Oregon | 6th | 3000 m | 09:00.38 |
| European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 3rd | 5000 m | 15:20.70 | |
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | heats | 5000 m | 15:25.90 | |
| 2017 | European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country | Albufeira, Portugal | 4th[21] | Individ. | 21:52 |
| European Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 5th | 3000 m | 08:50.40 | |
| World Championships | London, United Kingdom | heats | 5000 m | 15:41.29 | |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 7th | 1500 m | 4:05.56 |
| 14th | 5000 m | 16:05.65 | |||
| European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 10th | 5000 m | 15:41.10 | |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 15th | 10,000 m | 31:44.79 |
| European 10,000m Cup | London, England | 1st | 10,000 m | 31:08.13 | |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Sapporo, Japan | 68th | Marathon | 2:53:26 |
| 2022 | European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country | Oeiras, Portugal | 9th[21] | Individ. | 23:07 |
Circuit wins
editNational titles
edit- British Championships
- British Indoor Championships
- 3000 m: 2016
- BUCS Championships:
- 5000 m: 2009
- Cross Country: 2010
Circuit wins
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Reading Half Marathon | Reading, United Kingdom | 1st | Half marathon | 1:11:37[23][24] |
Personal bests
edit| Event | Time | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 metres | 57.7 | Aldershot, England | 18 June 2016 |
| 800 metres | 2:02.58 | Watford, England | 15 June 2016 |
| 1500 metres | 4:02.54 | Zurich, Switzerland | 19 August 2010 |
| One mile | 4:25.39 | London, England | 9 July 2017 |
| 3000 metres | 8:40.98 | Monaco, Monaco | 15 July 2016 |
| 5000 metres | 14:54.08 | Brussels, Belgium | 27 August 2010 |
| 10,000 metres | 31:08.13 | Parliament Hill, England | 6 July 2019 |
| Half marathon | 1:08:55 | Houston, USA | 19 January 2020 |
| Marathon | 2:26:40 | Frankfurt, Germany | 27 October 2019 |
- All information (excluding 400m) taken from IAAF profile.[25]
References
edit- ^ "AFD at the European Club Cross Country in Portugal!". ronhill.com. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Club Honours". Aldershot, Farnham & District Athletic Club. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "AFD claim European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country team bronze". Athletics Weekly. 5 February 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ Twell wins to boost Beijing hopes. BBC Sport. 13 July 2008.
- ^ HOKA in three-year deal with Olympian Steph Twell. endurance.biz. 28 January 2022.
- ^ Woods, Mark. "New coach Geoff Wightman gives Steph Twell fresh stimulus". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "#couplegoals: GB duo break record for fastest mile holding hands". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ Staff and agencies (19 July 2008). "Beijing Olympics: Twell crowns final Olympic track and field additions". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ "Stephanie Twell is the female Waterford Crystal European Athletics Rising Star 2008 – European Athletics". Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
- ^ Simon Hart (6 January 2009). "London 2012 Olympics: Britain's young and gifted going for gold medals". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 19 February 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Telegraph staff (4 January 2009). "Debut senior win for Stephanie Twell". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ Landells, Steve (2 January 2009). Twell and Kiprop top the fields in Antrim – Antrim International Cross Country preview. IAAF. Retrieved on 26 January 2010.
- ^ Kiplagat powers to world triumph. BBC Sport (28 March 2009). Retrieved on 30 March 2009.
- ^ Ramsak, Bob (30 May 2009). Three meeting records fall in Belgrade. IAAF. Retrieved on 31 May 2009.
- ^ Mills, Steven (19 August 2010). Twell sets 1500m PB Archived 22 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved on 5 September 2010.
- ^ Steph Twell smashes Yvonne Murray's Scottish record. BBC Sport (28 August 2010). Retrieved on 5 September 2010.
- ^ Brown, Matthew (5 September 2010). Masai wins 5k Challenge in London. IAAF. Retrieved on 5 September 2010.
- ^ Steph Twell suffers ankle fracture. BBC Sport (13 February 2011). Retrieved on 18 March 2011.
- ^ Inspired: British captain Dai Greene will use the plight of injured runner Steph Twell as motivation at Games – Daily Telegraph, 30 July 2012
- ^ "ondon 10,000: Britons Mo Farah and Steph Twell win men's and women's titles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Club Honours". Aldershot, Farnham & District Athletic Club. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Twell and Merga triumph in Antrim". World Athletics. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
- ^ Aldridge, James (17 March 2019). "Reading Half Marathon 2019: the results". GetReading. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ "Sage Reading Half Marathon Provisional Results". 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ Biographies: Twell, Stephanie. IAAF. Retrieved on 11 May 2022.
External links
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