Andy Baddeley

He was unlucky in the Commonwealth Games when he fell in the 1500m, which ruined his medal chances, as well as causing a further injury to his wrist, which was caused when falling at the AAA Indoor Championships earlier that winter.

By the summer, Baddeley won his first major domestic title over 1500m and made the European final, finishing sixth but vastly improved over the next two years.

Baddeley made a great breakthrough in the summer year in 2007, beating the likes of Bernard Lagat in Sheffield, before making the world final in Osaka.

He was in the form of his life in 2008, as he took an unexpected win in the famous Dream Mile race in Oslo, before winning the European Cup over 3000m, but an Achilles injury wrecked his medal chances in the Olympic Games final, as he placed ninth.

Running in his first 5000m race since 2005, Baddeley set a PB of 13:20.99, which was just short of the 'A' qualifier for Berlin, but his focus for the summer of 2009 will be 1500m. Rather astonishingly, Baddeley runs with an electrocardiogram in his chest because of an irregular heartbeat.

He has a first-class honours degree from Cambridge University in aerospace engineering and used to be a part-time lecturer at St. Mary’s University.

Click here for more information.

Images courtesy of Mark Shearman