Sam Atkin

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Sam Atkin

| image = 2022-08-21 European Championships 2022 – Men's 10,000 Metres by Sandro Halank–025 (cropped).jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Atkin at the 2022 European Athletics Championships

| full_name = Samuel Atkin

| nickname =

| nationality = British

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|3|14|df=y}}

| birth_place = Grimsby, England

| hometown =

| alma_mater = Lewis–Clark State College

| occupation =

| years_active =

| height =

| weight =

| spouse =

| website =

| sport = Long-distance running

| event = {{ubl|5000 metres|10000 metres}}

| universityteam = Lewis–Clark State Warriors

| club =

| team =

| turnedpro =

| coach =

| pb =

| show-medals =

| medaltemplates =

| medaltemplates-title =

}}

Sam Atkin (born 14 March 1993){{cite web |title=Sam ATKIN – Athlete Profile |url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/great-britain-ni/sam-atkin-14422240 |website=World Athletics |access-date=1 January 2023}} is a British Olympic athlete specialising in long-distance running, predominantly the 5000 metres and 10,000 m races.

He is the British record holder for the 5 km road race and the British indoor record holder for the 3000 metres.

Running career

Sam Atkin won the North of England cross-country under-17 men's title in Blackburn. Also a keen footballer and tennis player as a teenager, in athletics he started with Grimsby Harriers and moved to Cleethorpes and eventually Lincoln Wellington, where he teamed up with coach Rob Lewis.

In 2011, aged 18, he had the chance to study in the United States and went to Lewis–Clark State College in Idaho. Atkin's progress was affected by a rare problem called Freiberg disease, where one of the metatarsals in his foot protrudes upwards, causing discomfort.{{Cite web |last=Henderson |first=Jason |date=10 December 2020 |title=Sam Atkin comes of age with stunning track breakthrough |url=https://athleticsweekly.com/featured/sam-atkin-comes-of-age-with-stunning-track-breakthrough-1039938290/ |access-date=10 December 2020 |website=AW |language=en}} He graduated from LCSC with a degree in Business Management and Sports Administration in 2016, stayed in Idaho and also coaches other athletes. While coaching and competing he also studied at Western Governors University and graduated with an MBA in 2019.{{Cite web |title=Sam Atkin - Assistant coach - Staff Directory |url=https://lcwarriors.com/staff-directory/sam-atkin/44 |access-date=19 March 2023 |website=Lewis-Clark State College Warriors |publisher=Lewis–Clark State College |language=en}}

At the Sound Running Track Meet in California on 5 December 2020, Atkin ran the fourth fastest time by a British athlete over the 10,000 metres behind only Mo Farah, Jon Brown and Eamonn Martin. Despite starting that race as a pacemaker, he hit the Olympic qualifying time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where he represented Britain in the 10,000 metres race, but did not finish as he suffered an injury mid-race.{{Cite news|url=https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/other-sport/grimsby-athlete-sam-atkin-suffers-5721750.amp|title = Grimsby athlete Sam Atkin suffers injury disappointment at Olympic Games|newspaper = Grimsbylive|date = 30 July 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.flotrack.org/articles/6842083-former-naia-star-sam-atkin-has-olympic-games-in-sight|title=Former NAIA Star Sam Atkin Has Olympic Games In Sight - FloTrack|website=www.flotrack.org|date=15 December 2020 }}

On 27 January 2023 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic on a Boston University track, the 29-year-old broke Mo Farah's seven-year British 3000 m indoor record (7:33.1) with a time of 7:31.97. Atkin took 15 seconds off his personal best and set the fastest 3000 m (indoors or out) by a UK athlete in history as (Farah's) outdoor record stood at 7:32.62 at the time.{{Cite web |last=Henderson |first=Jason |date=27 January 2023 |title=British records fall to Dina Asher-Smith and Sam Atkin |url=https://athleticsweekly.com/event-reports/british-records-fall-to-dina-asher-smith-and-sam-atkin-1039964517/ |access-date=28 January 2023 |website=AW |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=28 January 2023 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/64435069 |title= Sam Atkin breaks Mo Farah's British 3,000m record in Boston |access-date=28 January 2023 |website=BBC Sport}} On 19 March, he sliced four seconds off Marc Scott's 2020 British 5 kilometres record with 13:16 in Lille, France.{{Cite web |last=Henderson |first=Jason |date=20 March 2023 |title=British 5km record falls to Sam Atkin in Lille |url=https://athleticsweekly.com/athletics-news/british-5km-record-falls-to-sam-atkin-in-lille-1039966255/ |access-date=20 March 2023 |website=AW |language=en}}

Due to injury he didn’t compete after March 2023 until he ran a new 5000 metres personal best of 12:58.73 in Boston, Massachusetts in January 2024.{{cite web|url= https://athleticsweekly.com/athletics-news/amber-anning-breaks-katharine-merrys-british-indoor-200m-record-1039974862/|website=Athletics Weekly|accessdate=27 January 2024|title= Amber Anning breaks Katharine Merry's British indoor 200m record|first=Jason|last=Henderson |date= January 27, 2024}} He set a new outdoors personal best over 5000m running 12:54.66 at the Los

Angeles Grand Prix on 17 May 2024.{{cite web|first=Jonathan|last=Gault|date=17 May 2024|accessdate=18 May 2024|url= https://www.letsrun.com/news/2024/05/selemon-barega-wins-star-studded-5000-1251-60-grant-fisher-5th-as-cooper-teare-and-cole-hocker-join-sub-1300-club/|title= Selemon Barega Wins Star-Studded 5000 (12:51.60), Grant Fisher 5th, as Cooper Teare & Cole Hocker Join Sub-13:00 Club Grand Prix|website=Lets Run}}

Atkin was selected to represent Great Britain in the 5,000 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics{{cite web|url=https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/news-and-features/team-gb-athletics-squad-confirmed-for-paris-2024/|title=TEAM GB ATHLETICS SQUAD CONFIRMED FOR PARIS 2024|publisher=GB Athletics|accessdate=5 July 2024}} where he failed to reach the final.{{cite web|url=https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/24504162.food-poisoning-covid-derail-grimsbys-atkin-olympic-games/|title=Food poisoning and Covid derail Grimsby's Atkin and his Olympic Games|publisher=St Helens Star|accessdate=9 August 2024}}

He competed at the 2025 Grand Slam Track event in Miami, where he briefly led before finishing eighth in the 3000 metres race.{{cite web|first=Jasmine|last=Collett|url=https://athleticsweekly.com/news/josh-kerr-clinches-1500m-victory-at-grand-slam-track-1040001420/|website=Athletics Weekly|title= JOSH KERR CLINCHES 1500M VICTORY AT GRAND SLAM TRACK |date=3 May 2025|accessdate=3 May 2025}}