Emily Diamond (born 11 June 1991 inBristol)[1] is a Britishtrack and field athlete, who competes in the200 metres and400 metres. Diamond came to prominence in her breakout season of 2016 when, following her first win at the British Championships over the 400 metres distance, she collected a gold medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the2016 European Athletics Championships as part of the Great Britain team, followed by a bronze in the same discipline at the2016 Summer Olympics.
Diamond took up athletics whilst attendingBristol Grammar School, where she notably beat Nicola Phillips in the 1500 m at Sports Day. While there she won the junior girls' race at the Bristol Schools' Cross Country Championships.[2] In 2009, representingAvon, she won the English Schools' senior girls' 200 metres title.[2] Both her mother and grandmother had previously competed for England in long jump.[3]
Diamond was selected for Great Britain team at the2011 World University Games held inShenzhen,Guangdong,China. Competing in the 200 metres she progressed to the final and finished eighth.[2] Diamond also ran a leg of the4 × 400 metres relay winning a bronze medal as part of a team withKelly Massey,Charlotte Best andMeghan Beesley.[2] At the2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics held inMoncton,New Brunswick, Canada, Diamond made the final of the 200 metres and finished in sixth position with a time of 23.62 seconds.[4]
At the 2012 UK Olympic Trials in Birmingham Diamond ran a time of 53.36 seconds to finish fourth in the final of the 400 metres.[5] This result lead to her being selected as a reserve for thewomen's 4 × 400 metres relay squad at theGreat Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[6] Her selection came despite Diamond having only run the distance competitively six times in outdoor competition.[2]
Diamond was part of the English 4 x 400 metres team that won bronze at the2014 Commonwealth Games, but only ran in the heats.[7] In 2016, she won a gold medal as part of the Great Britain 4 x 400 m team at the European Championships, her first senior gold medal.[3] She won a bronze medal in the4 × 400 metres relay at the2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.[8] In the individual event, she reached the semifinals.[3] She was part of the Great Britain squad that won silver at the2017 World Championships.[3] Diamond is a member of the Bristol and West Athletic Club and also representsLoughborough University where she is coached by former international 400 metres runnerJared Deacon.[1][2]
