Sebastian Ernst (born 11 October 1984 inGelsenkirchen) is a German sprinter who specializes in the200 metres. His personal best time is 20.36 seconds, achieved during the heats at the2004 Summer Olympics. This ranks him third among German 200m sprinters, only behindTobias Unger andFrank Emmelmann.[1] Ernst has represented the sports teamTV Wattenscheid 01 andSchalke 04 domestically.
As a junior, he finished sixth at the2002 World Junior Championships. The following year he took the 200 m title at the2003 European Athletics Junior Championships, as well as winning a silver medal in the relay.[2] He made his senior international debut the following year at the2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where he narrowly missed a spot in the 200 m finals.[3] An Olympic debut came later that season for the nineteen-year-old and, after running a personal best of 20.36 seconds in the heats, he was eliminated in the semi-finals as the fastest non-qualifier.[4]
His 2005 season was highlighted by a 200 m and4 × 100 metres relay silver medal double at the2005 European Athletics U23 Championships.[5] He also made his first appearance at theWorld Championships in Athletics that year, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals. He began the following year by helping Germany to third in theSwedish medley relay at the2006 European Athletics Indoor Cup.[6] He claimed his first national title with a win at theGerman Athletics Championships and represented his country in the event at the2006 European Athletics Championships, reaching the semi-finals. In the relay event, he finished fifth with teammatesAlexander Kosenkow,Marius Broening andRonny Ostwald.
He was thebronze medallist over 200 m at the2010 European Team Championships but was runner-up toDaniel Schnelting at the2010 German Athletics Championships the following month. He came close to a personal best in July, running 20.38 seconds inMannheim, but faltered at the2010 European Athletics Championships, coming last in his semi-final. He broke theGerman indoor record for the 200 m with a time of 20.42 seconds, which he achieved at the 2011German Indoor Athletics Championships.[7]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Germany | |||||
| 2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston,Jamaica | 6th | 200m | 21.00(wind: +0.9 m/s) |
| 6th | 4 × 100 m relay | 40.00 | |||
| 2003 | European Junior Championships | Tampere, Finland | 1st | 200 m | 20.63(wind: +1.0 m/s) |
| 2004 | World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 8th (semis) | 200 m | 21.02 |
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 9th (semis) | 200 m | 20.63(wind: +0.2 m/s) | |
| 2005 | European U23 Championships | Erfurt,Germany | 2nd | 200m | 20.58(wind: +1.3 m/s) |
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.12 | |||
| World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 26th (q-finals) | 200 m | 21.54(wind: -3.4 m/s) | |
| 2006 | European Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 13th (semis) | 200 m | 21.04(wind: +0.2 m/s) |
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 16th (semis) | 200 m | 20.95(wind: +1.2 m/s) |
