- Dai Greene
-
Dai Greene 
Dai Greene at the 2010 European Athletics ChampionshipsPersonal information Full name David Greene Nationality Welsh, British Born 11 April 1986 [1]
Felinfoel, Carmarthenshire, WalesResidence Bath, Somerset Sport Country Great Britain
WalesSport Running Event(s) 400 m, 400 m hurdles Club Swansea Harriers Achievements and titles Personal best(s) - 400 m: 45.17 (2011)
- 400 m hurdles: 47.88 (2010)
Medal recordWorld Championships Gold 2011 Daegu 400 m hurdles Silver 2009 Berlin 4x400 m relay European Athletics Championships Gold 2010 Barcelona 400 m hurdles European Team Championships Gold 2011 Stockhlom 400 m hurdles Continental Cup Gold 2010 Split 400 m hurdles Commonwealth Games Gold 2010 Delhi 400 m hurdles David "Dai" Greene (born 11 April 1986) is a Welsh hurdler who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles event and competes internationally for both Wales and Great Britain.
He is the second fastest British man over the 400 m hurdles, behind the British record holder, Kriss Akabusi. Greene is the current European, Commonwealth and World Champion.
Contents
Early life
Born in Felinfoel near Llanelli,[2] Greene showed an aptitude for sport while attending Pen-y-gaer primary school.[3] Inspired to follow his hero Ryan Giggs, he began practising football skills with his left foot.[4] Resultantly, aged 13 while attending Coedcae comprehensive school, he joined the youth team set-up at Swansea City, playing left wing, and once scored a penalty against a Real Madrid youth side. Turning down a contract to turn professional as a footballer aged 16,[4] he continued his studies while still playing youth football for Swansea. After contracting Osgood-Schlatter disease during a growth spurt, he resultantly decided to give up football in his late teens for athletics, and he still runs to this day for Swansea Harriers Athletics Club. Aged 17, Greene was diagnosed with epilepsy, and continues to manage the condition today by avoiding late nights and alcohol, the main diagnosed triggers of his fits.[1]
Athletics career
Moving to Cardiff to be coached by Benke Blomqvist, Greene had his first success on the junior athletics circuit in 2005. He won the silver medal at the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships, finishing with a personal best time of 51.14 seconds. The following year he competed in his first senior tournament, the 2006 European Athletics Championships, but he failed to progress beyond the heats with a run of 50.66 seconds.[5] His junior success continued, however, as he won the gold medal at the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships with a new best of 49.58 seconds. He beat Frenchman Fadil Bellaabouss by a narrow margin to mark an impressive return, following an ankle injury which had ruled him out for six weeks of the season.[6]
After his coach Blomqvist decided to return to Sweden for family reasons, from 2009 Greene relocated to University of Bath, to allow him to train under coach Malcolm Arnold,[7] supported by the Wells Sports Foundation.[8] He was later joined by fellow Welsh 400m hurdler Rhys Williams, who is now his training partner.
The 2009 outdoor season saw Greene making his first impact on the senior circuit. In June he set a meet record and a new personal best of 48.62 seconds to win the 400 m hurdles at the Josef Odlozil Memorial in Prague. This was a significant improvement from his 2008 best of 49.58 seconds and made him top of the European rankings for the first time.[9] Competing for Team GB at the 2009 World Championships, Greene won his heat with a strong first round performance of 48.76 seconds. He followed this with a new personal best in the semi-finals, finishing in 48.27 seconds to take second place behind Bershawn Jackson.[10] He finished 7th in the final of the men's 400 m hurdles, and received a silver medal for the 4x400 m relay, despite only running in the semi-final, being replaced in the final by Michael Bingham.
On 31 July 2010, he won the Gold Medal in the 400m hurdles at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, with fellow Welshman Rhys Williams getting the silver.[11] On 10 October 2010, Greene won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.[12]
On 1 September 2011, at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Greene won the gold medal, overtaking a strong field in the final straight.[8]
Personal bests
Event Best Location Date 400 metres 45.82 s Birmingham, England 31 Jul 11 400 metres hurdles 47.88 s Zagreb, Croatia 4 Sep 10 Awards
- 2010 Brin Isaac sportsperson of the year[2]
References
- ^ a b "100 Team GB contenders for London 2012: Dai Greene". BBC News. 26 July 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/london_2012/14145353.stm. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Golden boy Greene thanks town for 'fantastic' support". South Wales Echo. December 15, 2010. http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Golden-boy-Greene-thanks-town-fantastic-support/story-12425632-detail/story.html. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ "Greene is peaking perfectly to go from pants-wetter to gold-getter". Independent. 1 September 2011. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/greene-is-peaking-perfectly-to-go-from-pantswetter-to-goldgetter-2347045.html. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ a b "London 2012 – Dai Green". The Telegraph. 26 July 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/Team-GB/competitors/8662220/Dai-Greene-Team-GB-London-2012-Olympics.html. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ Biography Greene, David IAAF; Retrieved 9 June 2009
- ^ Greene races to Euro hurdles win BBC Sport, 15 July 2007; Retrieved 9 June 2009
- ^ "Coach Malcom Arnold has made me so much faster, says David Greene". South Wales Echo. July 27, 2010. http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Coach-Arnold-faster-says-Greene/story-12395421-detail/story.html. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Dai Greene's brutal regime earns gold at World Athletics Championships". The Guardian. 1 September 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/sep/01/dai-greene-world-athletics-championships. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ^ Juck, Alfons Spotakova improves to 68.23m IAAF, 9 June 2009; Retrieved 9 June 2009
- ^ Greene roars into hurdles final BBC Sport, 16 August 2009; Retrieved 17 August 2009
- ^ European Athletics 2010: Welsh one-two in 400m hurdles BBC Sport, 31 July 2010
- ^ Commonwealth Games 2010: Greene grabs Wales' first gold BBC Sport, 10 October 2010
External links
- IAAF profile for David Greene
World Champions in Men's 400 m Hurdles 1983: Edwin Moses (USA) • 1987: Edwin Moses (USA) • 1991: Samuel Matete (ZAM) • 1993: Kevin Young (USA) • 1995: Derrick Adkins (USA) • 1997: Stéphane Diagana (FRA) • 1999: Fabrizio Mori (ITA) • 2001: Félix Sánchez (DOM) • 2003: Félix Sánchez (DOM) • 2005: Bershawn Jackson (USA) • 2007: Kerron Clement (USA) • 2009: Kerron Clement (USA) • 2011: Dai Greene (GBR)
Commonwealth Champions in Men's 400 m Hurdles 1930 – 1966: 440 yards Hurdles • 1970 – Present: 400 metres Hurdles 1930: Lord Burghley (ENG) • 1934: Alan Hunter (SCO) • 1938: John Loaring (CAN) • 1950: Duncan White (CEY) • 1954: David Lean (AUS) • 1958: Gert Potgieter (SAF) • 1962: Ken Roche (AUS) • 1966: Ken Roche (AUS) • 1970: John Sherwood (ENG) • 1974: Alan Pascoe (ENG) • 1978: Daniel Kimaiyo (KEN) • 1982: Garry Brown (AUS) • 1986: Phil Beattie (NIR) • 1990: Kriss Akabusi (ENG) • 1994: Samuel Matete (ZAM) • 1998: Dinsdale Morgan (JAM) • 2002: Chris Rawlinson (ENG) • 2006: L. J. van Zyl (RSA) • 2010: Dai Greene (WAL)
European Champions in Men's 400 m Hurdles 1934: Hans Scheele (GER) • 1938: Prudent Joye (FRA) • 1946: Bertel Storskrubb (FIN) • 1950: Armando Filiput (ITA) • 1954: Anatoliy Yulin (URS) • 1958: Yuriy Lituyev (URS) • 1962: Salvatore Morale (ITA) • 1966: Roberto Frinolli (ITA) • 1969: Vyacheslav Skomorokhov (URS) • 1971: Jean-Claude Nallet (FRA) • 1974: Alan Pascoe (GBR) • 1978: Harald Schmid (FRG) • 1982: Harald Schmid (FRG) • 1986: Harald Schmid (FRG) • 1990: Kriss Akabusi (GBR) • 1994: Oleh Tverdokhlib (UKR) • 1998: Paweł Januszewski (POL) • 2002: Stéphane Diagana (FRA) • 2006: Periklis Iakovakis (GRE) • 2010: Dai Greene (GBR)
IAAF World / Continental Cup Champions in Men's 400 m Hurdles 1977: Edwin Moses (USA) • 1979: Edwin Moses (USA) • 1981: Edwin Moses (USA) • 1985: Andre Phillips (USA) • 1989: Dave Patrick (USA) • 1992: Samuel Matete (ZAM) • 1994: Samuel Matete (ZAM) • 1998: Samuel Matete (ZAM) • 2002: James Carter (USA) • 2006: Kerron Clement (USA) • 2010: Dai Greene (GBR)
Categories:- 1986 births
- Living people
- People from Llanelli
- Welsh athletes
- British hurdlers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales
- People with epilepsy
- Alumni of the University of Bath
- TeamBath
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
