College: Loughborough University, Great Britain
Events: 5,000 – 13:11.51; 10,000 – 27:27.36
Coach: Mark Rowland
The European Championship silver medalist at 10,000 meters, Chris “Thommo” Thompson, is originally from Great Britain. He joined OTC Elite in the spring of 2009.
Professional: Competing indoors for the first time in his life at the University of Washington's Dempsey Track, Thompson began 2012 with first and second place finishes at the 5,000 meter and 3,000 meter distances, respectively. With two of his teammates, Chris made an appearance at the 2012 NYC Half Marathon in early March, and debuted with a blazing 1:01:23 for seventh place. He would later drop this time at the end of the 2012 season. Thompson opened his outdoor track season at Hayward Field during the Oregon Relays, where he missed his personal best in the 1,500 meters by 2 seconds in 3:43.13. In May, Thompson and OTC Elite company competed in the Payton Jordan Invitational. He again finished close to a personal best time, taking fourth in a stacked 5,000-meter race with a 13:15.21. Thompson's next race would be in the Olympic final of the 10,000 meters. Following his Olympic debut, Chris ran on home soil at the Birmingham Diamond League contest where he set a 10-second personal best in the 2-mile with a 8:30.19. As mentioned prior, Thompson bested his debut time in the half marathon to 1:01:00 even at the Bupa Great North Run in Gateshead, UK.
To kick off the 2011 season, Thompson cruised through an easy 3k victory at the Oregon Preview to set him up for a huge race at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University. There, he set a new personal best in the 10k with a time of 27:27.36. He then hit the roads for a second-place finish among several of his own running idols at the Great Manchester Run in his home country. Battling on and off injury and surgery prevented him from achieving the level of fitness he aspired to and led to his decision to not attend the 2011 IAAF World Championships for the UK. Well on the road to recovery by the end of the year, he returned to the roads for a 1st place finish at the 2011 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5k.
Thommo had some serious 10k success in (fittingly) 2010. First he opened the season with the ninth fastest road 10k in British History – a 28:01 at the Trafford 10k. Then he set a personal best 10,000-meter time of 27:29.61 on the track at the Payton Jordan Invitational on May 1. Later in the season, Thompson won the 10k silver medal at the European Championships, taking second to fellow Brit Mo Farah. Thompson also placed eighth in the 5,000 meters at Euros, and set his PB at 5k at the Gateshead Diamond League meet on July 10 – running a 13:11.51, which is also an OTC team record. Two weeks prior to setting that mark, Thompson won the UK Outdoor Championship at 5,000 meters (13:48.15). He also recorded a fifth in the 5k and an eighth in the 10k at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, and ran his third PB and third OTC record of the year, in the 3,000 – a 7:43.34 at the London Diamond League competition.
Previous Career Highlights: In 2009, Thommo placed sixth in the 1,500 meters at both the Aviva World Trials and the UK Championships. In 2006, he was eighth in the 1,500 at the Norwich Union European Trials. And in 2004, Thompson grabbed a pair of gold medals: the first at the BUSA Championships in the 1,500, and the second at the AAA Championships in the 5,000. … As a junior runner, Thommo was quite the rising star in Britain. At the age of 22 in 2003, Thompson won the European U23 Championship in the 5,000 meters. He also won the Norwich Union U23 Championship in the 1,500 that year.
Personal: Thompson was born April 17, 1981 to Peter and Wendy Thompson. He is dating fellow OTCElite teammate, Jemma Simpson. Most recently, he is looking forward to becoming part owner of a race horse.
PERSONAL BESTS- Outdoor
1,500 Meters – 3:41.04 – Watford, England – June 12, 2004
3,000 Meters – 7:43.34 – Diamond League, London, England – August 13, 2010
2 Miles – 8:30.19 – Birmingham Diamond League, Birmingham, UK – August 26, 2012
5,000 Meters – 13:11.51 – Diamond League, Gateshead, England – July 10, 2010
10,000 Meters – 27:27.36 – Payton Jordan Invitational, Palo Alto, Calif. – May 1, 2011
Half Marathon - 1:01.00 - Bupa Great North Run, Gateshead, UK - September 16, 2012
PERSONAL BESTS- Indoor
3,000 meters- 7:49.17- Washington Invitational- January 27, 2012
5,000 meters- 13:29.94- Washington Husky Classic- February 10, 2012
