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Leon Reid

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For the American artist, see Leon Reid IV.

Leon Reid
Reid at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin
Personal information
Nationality
  • British
  • Irish
Born (1994-07-26) 26 July 1994 (age 30)
Bath, England
Sport
CountryIreland
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 metres, 200 metres
ClubMenapians AC
Coached byJames Hillier
Retired2023[1]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Northern Ireland
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast 200 m
Representing  Great Britain
European U23 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2015 Tallinn 200 m
European U20 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Rieti 200 m
European Youth Olympic Festival
Silver medal – second place 2011 Trabzon 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2011 Trabzon 4×100 m relay
Representing  England
Commonwealth Youth Games
Silver medal – second place 2011 Douglas 4×100 m relay

Leon Reid (born 26 July 1994)[2] is a former British-Irish track and field sprinter. He won the bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Northern Ireland's first athletics medal in 28 years, and silver in the event at the 2013 European Under-23 Championships.[1]

Reid took silver in the 200 m at the 2013 European U20 Championships. He won five Irish national titles (mostly for the 200 m).

Leon grew up in the care system, experiencing 13 foster homes. He became an ambassador for the charity Break in 2024 hoping to use his experience of being in care to raise awareness of the issues young people leaving care (care leavers) face.

Career

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Born in the West Country, England, Leon Reid won silver medals for Great Britain at the 2011 European Youth Olympic Festival, 2013 European Athletics Under-20 Championships and 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships. He also won a relay silver medal for England at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. He later decided to represent Northern Ireland – the nation of his mother's birth – and made his international debut for them at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He attempted to transfer his allegiance to represent Ireland, but this move was blocked following a temporary freeze on such moves by the International Association of Athletics Federations.[3] Once the freeze was lifted, Reid began competing for Ireland, with his first event the 2018 European Championships.

Reid took bronze in the men's 200 metres at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Initially he finished fourth, but was elevated when Zharnel Hughes was disqualified for a lane violation.[4] This was the first Commonwealth Games athletics medal for Northern Ireland in 28 years.[5][6]

Reid won the 200 metres at the Irish Athletics Championships in June 2021, and was nominated for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics team.[7] Initially, the Olympic Federation of Ireland rejected Reid's selection to the team, due to his pending trial for conspiracy to supply cocaine, but he was included in the team after filing an appeal.[7] The Olympic Games took place in August 2021, and Reid qualified for the 200 metres semi-finals by finishing fifth in his heat, with a season's best time of 20.53 seconds. He failed to qualify for the final after finishing seventh in his semi-final.[8]

Reid was selected for the Northern Irish team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but on 12 July 2022, he was barred from participating on security grounds.[9]

Personal life

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Reid was born in Bath to an English-Jamaican father, and a mother from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was adopted by a woman whose parents were from the Republic of Ireland.[10] He has self-identified as both Northern Irish and Irish.[3]

In April 2021, Reid was charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine by Bristol Crown Court.[11][7] In February 2022, he was given a 22-month suspended sentence, and ordered to do 220 hours of unpaid work.[12]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Time
Representing  Great Britain (–04/2018) /  Ireland (08/2018–) /  Northern Ireland
2011 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival Trabzon, Turkey 2nd 100 m 10.68
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 41.37
Commonwealth Youth Games Douglas, Isle of Man 6th 100 m 10.72w
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 41.06
2013 European Junior Championships Rieti, Italy 2nd 200 m 20.92
5th 4 × 100 m relay 40.09
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom — (h) 100 m DQ
8th (sf) 200 m 21.03
2015 European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia 2nd 200 m 20.63
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 3rd 200 m 20.55
European Championships Berlin, Germany 7th 200 m 20.37
11th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:06.55
2021 European Indoor Championships Toruń, Poland 34th (h) 60 m 6.75
Olympics Games Tokyo, Japan 20th (sf) 200 m 20.54

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Leon Reid: Commonwealth Games medallist retires at 28". BBC Sport. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Leon REID – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b Bloom, Ben (31 March 2018). "Leon Reid interview: Meet the England-born sprinter chasing glory for Northern Ireland... despite hatred, red tape and international exile". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Commonwealth Games: NI's Leon Reid wins 200m bronze after disqualification". BBC Sport. 12 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Leon Reid wins Northern Ireland's first athletics medal at Commonwealth Games in 28 years". Belfasttelegraph – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  6. ^ McCausland, Malcolm (13 April 2018). "Leon Reid claims bronze for Team NI in Commonwealth Games 200m final". The Irish News.
  7. ^ a b c Dennehy, Cathal (8 July 2021). "Sprinter Leon Reid named on Irish Olympic team despite pending criminal charges". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  8. ^ Dennehy, Cathal (3 August 2021). "Leon Reid thanks everyone for their support as he bows out in style after his 200m semi-final". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Northern Ireland sprinter Leon Reid prevented from competing at Commonwealth Games after security assessment". Belfast Telegraph. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Leon Reid: 'You can't be Irish because you're black'". The Irish Times.
  11. ^ "Irish sprinter Leon Reid charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine". TheGuardian.com. 7 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Irish sprinter Leon Reid sentenced for allowing his flat to be used to produce crack cocaine". Irish Independent. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
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