Guy Learmonth

Guy Learmonth
Learmonth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1992-04-20) 20 April 1992
Berwick-upon-Tweed, United Kingdom
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event
800 metres
College teamLoughborough University
Coached by
  • Henry Gray (2009-2019)
  • Rob Denmark (2015-2016)
  • George Gandy (2012-2014)
  • Justin Rinaldi (2019-2024)
  • Bruno Gajer (2024-present)

Guy Learmonth (born 20 April 1992 in Berwick-upon-Tweed[1]) is a Scottish and Great British athlete specialising in the 800 metres. His personal best currently stands as 1:44.73 and he is the third fastest Scottish 800m athlete of all time. Learmonth reached the final at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2015 European Indoor Championships and the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships, finishing sixth overall in all three. He was named the GB&NI captain for the European Indoor Championships in 2019 and also competed outdoors at the 2017 World Championships. He broke the Scottish 800m Junior Record 9 times, and holds the English AAA U20 Indoor & BUCS Championship records.

Biography

From Berwick-upon-Tweed, he has two siblings Jack and Max.[2][3] Learmonth attended Longridge Towers School.[4][3] Before turning to athletics at age 17, Learmonth practised rugby for the Border Reivers.[5] Learmonth holds a Sports Management degree from Loughborough University and in 2021 completed an Diploma in Egyptology (Distinction).[6] He trained as a member of Lasswade AC and was coached by Henry Gray who came out of retirement to coach him when Learmonth was a teenager.[7][8] His brother Jack later also acted as his coach, as did Rob Denmark.[3][9]

Athletics career

Early career: Commonwealth Games debut

Guy Learmonth's first major athletics competition was the 2011 European Athletics Junior Championships. He competed in the 800 metres event, winning his heat.[10] In his semi-final, he finished fifth. He also competed at the BUCS Indoor Championships that year, winning the 800 metres by over a second and setting a new championships best performance.[11] He won his first national senior medal in 2011, taking a bronze at the British Indoor Athletics Championships.[12] It would be the first of 13 National Indoor medals.

In 2012, he competed at his first Diamond League meeting at the Bislett Games in Oslo, setting a new personal best in the 800 metres finishing second.[13] He also retained his 800 metres title in 2012 at the BUCS Indoor Championships, winning by over a second, like the previous year.[14] On his debut at the BUCS Outdoor Championships he won gold in the 800 metres, in a competition that took place at the Olympic Stadium.[15] He improved on his result from the 2011 British Indoor Championships by winning a silver medal in 2012 championships in the 800 metres at the EIS Sheffield.[16]

In 2013, he chose not to defend his 800 metres titles at either the indoor or outdoor BUCS Championships, and attempted the 1500 metres at the outdoor championships, the only times he raced over the distance that year. He won both his heat and his semi-final, but finished a tenth of a second outside the medals, in fourth place.[17] He competed in the British Indoor Championships, winning a bronze medal.[18]

In 2014, he moved back down to the 800 metres at the BUCS Indoor Championships, winning his third 800 metres title.[19] He won the Indoor Glasgow International Match winning over a rarely run 600m race in a time of 1:16:48 and in the process broke the Scottish National 600m record which has been held for 40 years, at the same time, breaking the British U23 600m Indoor record and going to number 3 on the UK All Time rankings. Learmonth competed in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow achieving 6th place in the 800 metres final with a personal best time of 1:46.69.[20] He got there by qualifying from the heats, and securing the third automatic qualifying spot in his semi-final by two hundredths of a second.[21] He was slated to also run the 4 x 400 metres relay at the Games, but left the team due to the death of his grandfather.[22]

2018-2021: Multiple UK Indoor titles, World Championship debut

In 2015, Learmonth was crowned British Indoor Champion in the 800 metres.[23] He also won both his heat and semi-final of the 800 metres before going on to finish sixth in the final at the European Indoor Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.[24]

In 2016, he won a bronze medal, coming third at the British Indoor Championships in the 800 metres.[23] Similarly, in 2017 Learmonth was crowned British Indoor Champion, and competed at the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships.[25][22] He also won a silver medal in the British Outdoor Championships. Shortly after, Learmonth competed in the London Anniversary Games where he achieved a lifetime beat of 1:45.77 and the qualifying standard for the London World Championships in August 2017 where he reached the semi-final.[26][27]

In 2018, he set his lifetime best over the 800m with a time of 1:44.73 at the London Diamond League to place third on the Scottish all-time lists behind Tom McKean and Jake Wightman.[8] In 2019, he began to train under Australia based coach Justin Rinaldi.[28] At the 2019 Indoor European Championships, Glasgow, Learmonth was named GB & NI Team Captain and qualified for the semi-finals of the 800 metres but had a fall during his semi-final and was unable to reach the final.[28] The following year, he won his third British Indoor Championships title.[3]

2022-present: Third Commonwealth Games, fourth British Indoor title

Runner-up to Elliot Giles at the 2022 Indoor Championships, he was selected for the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade.[29][30] In 2022, Learmonth also made his third consecutive Scottish team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, where he finished sixth in the final.[31]

In February 2023, he ran an indoor personal best of 1:46.36 in Germany, 0.10 seconds behind Tom McKean's longstanding 1:46.26 Scottish Record, set before Learmonth’a birth.[28] His fourth British Indoor Championships title came in 2023,[32] ahead of the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey where he finished sixth in the final of the 800 metres.[33]

In February 2024, he was runner-up by 0.001 seconds in the 800 metres to Jack Higgins at the 2024 British Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham.[34][35] He qualified via his world ranking to compete at the subsequent World Indoor Championships in Glasgow but was not selected, with British Athletics choosing not to send an athlete in his event. Learmonth publicly criticised the decision.[36][37] In 2024, Learmonth moved to train with Bruno Gajer in France, the coach of his girlfriend and fellow runner Renelle Lamote, and split with his long time coach Justin Rinaldi. However, a succession of injuries prevented a full 2025 season. He returned to racing at the Glasgow EAP in February 2026.[38][39]

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Great Britain and  Scotland
2011 European Junior Championships Tallinn, Estonia 13th (sf) 800 m 1:51.72
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 6th 800 m 1:46.69
2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 6th 800 m 1:47.84
2017 European Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 9th (h) 800 m 1:48.73
World Championships London, United Kingdom 19th (sf) 800 m 1:46.75
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 17th (h) 800 m 1:49.20
European Championships Berlin, Germany 11th (sf) 800 m 1:46.83
2019 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 14th (h) 800 m 1:48.981
2021 European Indoor Championships Toruń, Poland 8th (sf) 800 m 1:47.92
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 14th (h) 800 m 1:49.13
6th 4 × 400 m relay 3:08.30
2023 European Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 6th 800 m 1:48.46

1Did not finish in the semifinals

Personal bests

Outdoor

Indoor

References

  1. ^ "Glasgow 2014 - Guy Learmonth Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Guy Learmonth feeling good ahead of UK Indoor Championships". The National. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d Spiers, Graham (7 March 2020). "Scottish 800m runner Guy Learmonth has sights set on Tokyo 2020". The Times. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  4. ^ Longridge (25 November 2020). "Alumni Stories | Longridge Towers School". lts.org.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  5. ^ "About | Guy Learmonth GB & Scottish International 800m Athlete". www.guylearmonth.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  6. ^ Bee, Lucy (12 February 2014). "Introducing Guy Learmonth GB Athlete | Lucy Bee Blog". Lucy Bee Blog. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  7. ^ "How Lasswade AC's Glasgow 2014 role models 'mesmerised' Sarah Tait". scottishathletics.org.uk. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  8. ^ a b Crumley, Euan (5 July 2019). "GUY LEARMONTH: "I'M NOT SCARED OF FAILURE"". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Guy Learmonth hopes slim line will be a tonic for his career". Edinburgh News. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  10. ^ "Competitions - European Athletics Under 20 Championships - History - European Athletics". european-athletics. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  11. ^ BUCS Indoor Championships 2011 Results. BUCS. 2011. pp. 14–16.
  12. ^ "Results". www.thepowerof10.info. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  13. ^ "Results Archive - Diamond League - Oslo". oslo.diamondleague.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  14. ^ "11-12 Indoor Championships Results - British Universities & Colleges Sport". www.bucs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Monday Results - British Universities & Colleges Sport". www.bucs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Results". www.thepowerof10.info. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  17. ^ 2013 BUCS Outdoor Championships Results. BUCS. 2013. pp. 17–19.
  18. ^ "Results". www.thepowerof10.info. Archived from the original on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  19. ^ 2014 BUCS Indoor Championships Results. BUCS. 2014. p. 24. Archived from the original on 25 September 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  20. ^ "Glasgow 2014 - Men's 800m Final". g2014results.thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Results - Mens 800m - Athletics - Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Guy Learmonth: Scot puts personal trauma aside in European Indoors medal bid". BBC Sport. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  23. ^ a b "British Athletics Results". www.britishathletics.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  24. ^ "Competitions - European Athletics Indoor Championships - History - European Athletics". european-athletics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  25. ^ "European Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  26. ^ "Guy thrilled to land London return ticket". Scottish Athletics. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  27. ^ "IAAF World Championships in Athletics". World Athletics. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  28. ^ a b c Rhodes, James (17 February 2023). "Guy Learmonth - A New Person". /fastrunning.com. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  29. ^ "2022 World Indoors: Jenny Selman and Adam Thomas given first GB&NI call as five Scots make team". BBC Sport. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  30. ^ "UK Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  31. ^ "XXII Commonwealth Games". World Athletics. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  32. ^ "UK Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  33. ^ Wilson, Jeremy (22 February 2024). "Guy Learmonth calls out 'new faces, same BS' after being left out of Britain's indoor team". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  34. ^ "Guy Learmonth criticises 'disgusting' omission from World Indoor Championships". BBC Sport. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  35. ^ Rhodes, James (21 February 2024). "Brilliant in Birmingham & Super in Seville – Weekend Round Up". Fast Running. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  36. ^ "Guy Learmonth accuses British Athletics of 'nonsense' decision over World Indoor Championships". Independent. 23 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  37. ^ Henderson, Jason (23 February 2024). "Guy Learmonth fuming over World Indoors snub". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  38. ^ "GUY LEARMONTH'S FRENCH REVOLUTION". Athletics Weekly. 16 January 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  39. ^ "Native Indoor Mile Records and Scottish event wins at another exciting EAP Glasgow". Scottish Athletics. 31 January 2026. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
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