Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox athlete
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Marlon Ronald Devonish, Template:Post-nominals (born 1 June 1976) is an English former sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres.<ref name="beijing">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A prodigious relay runner with particular strength as a 'bend' runner, Devonish ran the third leg for the Great Britain quartet which won the 4 × 100 metres at the 2004 Olympic Games, and won four World Championship medals in the same event in 1999, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
Early lifeEdit
Devonish attended Caludon Castle School in Coventry, where his athletic talent was first discovered by his P.E. teacher Timothy Coleman who took him to Coventry Godiva Harriers athletics club.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CareerEdit
He is a member of the Coventry Godiva Harriers athletics club and was coached by Tony Lester. Early in his career he was successful at both 100 and 200-metre distances, winning English Schools and European Junior titles at both, but in later years he concentrated mostly on the longer distance. He was also a regular member of both the British and, at the Commonwealth Games, English 4 × 100-metre sprint relay teams, to some considerable success. He is a current Commonwealth Games record holder in the relay event.
The most notable achievement of his career came at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. There Devonish, along with Jason Gardener, Darren Campbell and Mark Lewis-Francis, won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m. relay, where the quartet defeated the pre-race favourites, United States team, by just 0.01 seconds, in a season's best of 38.07.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
At the British Championships (and team trials for the 2006 European Championships) in July 2006, Devonish became the first man since Linford Christie in 1988 to win both the 100 m and 200 m races at the event.<ref>Devonish storms to sprint double. BBC Sport (16 July 2006). Retrieved on 13 May 2009.</ref> At the championship finals, he took the bronze medal in the 200 m.
Devonish retained his 100 m title at the British Championships the following year. For the 2007 season Devonish improved his performance in the 100 m with a new personal best and competed in this event at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka rather than the 200 m which he had previously specialised in. Devonish finished 6th in the 100 m final.
Devonish represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4 × 100 metres relay together with Simeon Williamson, Tyrone Edgar and Craig Pickering. In their qualification heat they were disqualified and eliminated.<ref name="beijing"/> He also took part in the 200 metres individual, finishing first with a time of 20.49 seconds in his first round heat. With 20.43 seconds in his second round he only placed fourth in his heat, but his time was among the four best losing times and enough to qualify for the semi-finals. There he came to 20.57 seconds and the seventh time in his race, which was not enough for the final.<ref name="beijing"/>
He competed at the 2009 Manchester City Games, finishing second in the 150 metres final in 15.07 seconds. He was beaten by Usain Bolt who ran a world best-beating time.<ref>Superb Bolt storms to 150m record. BBC Sport (17 May 2009). Retrieved on 17 May 2009.</ref>
On 22 August 2009, Devonish was a member of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland men's 4 × 100 m relay team that took bronze at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin with a season's best of 38.02. Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Simeon Williamson and Tyrone Edgar ran the other legs.
Post-athleticsEdit
On 16 July 2013, Devonish was brought in as sprint coach for Gloucester Rugby at Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 8 January 2018, Devonish started working for the British International School Shanghai located in Puxi, Shanghai, China as their elite athlete performance coach in residence.
International competition recordEdit
| Representing Template:GBR2 and Template:ENG | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | World Junior Championships | Lisbon, Portugal | 1st (h)<ref>Competed only in the heat.</ref> | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.92 |
| 1995 | European Junior Championships | Nyíregyháza, Hungary | 1st | 200 m | 21.04 |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.43 | |||
| 1996 | European Indoor Championships | Stockholm, Sweden | 11th (sf) | 200 m | 21.86 |
| 1997 | European U23 Championships | Turku, Finland | 3rd | 100 m | 10.32 w (+2.8 m/s) |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.99 | |||
| World Championships | Athens, Greece | 35th (qf) | 100 m | 10.37 | |
| 6th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.47 | |||
| 1998 | European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 5th | 100 m | 10.24 |
| 1st (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.47 | |||
| Commonwealth Games | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 8th | 100 m | 10.22 | |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.20 | |||
| World Cup | Johannesburg, South Africa | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.09 | |
| 1999 | European Cup | Paris, France | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.16 |
| World Championships | Seville, Spain | 7th (sf) | 200 m | 20.25 | |
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 37.73 | |||
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 27th (sf) | 200 m | 20.82 |
| – | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ | |||
| 2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 8th | 200 m | 20.38 |
| – | 4 × 100 m relay | DNF | |||
| Goodwill Games | Brisbane, Australia | 4th | 200 m | 20.74 | |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.71 | |||
| 2002 | Commonwealth Games | Manchester, United Kingdom | 2nd | 200 m | 20.19 |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.62 | |||
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 3rd | 200 m | 20.24 | |
| – | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ | |||
| World Cup | Madrid, Spain | 3rd | 200 m relay | 20.32 | |
| 6th | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.23 | |||
| 2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 200 m | 20.62 |
| World Championships | Paris, France | – | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ | |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.07 |
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 14th (sf) | 100 m | 10.24 |
| 12th (sf) | 200 m | 20.93 | |||
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.27 | |||
| 2006 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne, Australia | 8th | 100 m | 10.30 |
| 12th (sf) | 200 m | 20.93 | |||
| – | 4 × 100 m relay | DNF | |||
| 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:02.01 | |||
| European Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 3rd | 200 m | 20.54 | |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.91 | |||
| World Cup | Athens, Greece | 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.451 | |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 6th | 100 m | 10.14 |
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m relay | 37.90 | |||
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 13th (sf) | 200 m | 20.57 |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ | |||
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 12th (sf) | 200 m | 20.62 |
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.02 | |||
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 4th | 200 m | 20.62 |
| 9th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.49 | |||
| Commonwealth Games | Delhi, India | 5th | 200 m | 20.75 | |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.74 | |||
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 16th (sf) | 100 m | 10.25 |
| 4th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 38.292 | |||
1Representing Europe
2Did not finish in the final
Personal bestsEdit
| Distance | Time | Wind | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 10.06 sec | + 1.3 m/s | Lausanne | 10 July 2007 |
| 200 m | 20.19 sec | + 1.4 m/s | Manchester | 29 July 2002 |
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Footer Olympic Champions 4x100 m Men {{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:Footer World Indoor Champions 200m Men Template:Footer European Champions 4x100 m Men Template:Footer U23 European Champions 4x100m Men Template:Footer Commonwealth Champions 4x100 m Men Template:Footer IAAF World Cup Champions 4x100 m Men Template:British Athletics Championships men's 100 metres champions Template:British Athletics Championships men's 200 metres champions Template:Authority control