 Dobson in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1999-10-20)20 October 1999 (age 26)[1] Colchester,Essex, England |
| Alma mater | Loughborough University |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Sprinting |
Event(s) | 200m,400m |
| Club | Colchester Harriers |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Regional finals | 2022 |
Charlie Dobson (born 20 October 1999) is a Britishsprinter, specialising in the400 metres and the 4 x 400 metres relay. An Olympic bronze medalist andEuropean champion in the relay, Dobson made his senior individual breakthrough in 2024; he won a silver medal in the 400 metres at the2024 European Athletics Championships, and won the 400 metres event at the2024 British Athletics Championships. He was the surprise winner in the 400 metres final of the2024 Diamond League inBrussels.
Dobson is fromColchester,Essex, England.[2] He studied atSt Benedict's Catholic College andColchester Sixth Form College.[3] As of 2022, he was a student ofaeronautical engineering atLoughborough University.[2][4]
Dobson competes for Colchester Harriers Athletics Club.[2] He won his first international competition, which was the Loughborough International meeting.[5] He came second in the200 metres event at the2018 IAAF World U20 Championships,[2][5] finishing behind teammateJona Efoloko.[5] Dobson had setpersonal best times in the heat and semi-finals of the competition.[6]
In 2020, Dobson set theBritish Universities & Colleges Sport record for the 60 metres event.[3] In 2021, Dobson ran the 400 metres event once. His finishing time was the joint fastest by a Briton that year, tied withMatthew Hudson-Smith.[4] He was selected in the British team for the2021 World Athletics Relays,[7] but injured himself prior to the event. The injury also prevented him from attempting to qualify for the delayed2020 Summer Olympics;[4] he had been hoping to make the British 4 x 400 metres team at the Games.[2] He spent 10 months out with injury before returning in February 2022 at the Loughborough Indoor Open.[8]
In April 2022, Dobson ran a 200 metres event in 20.19, the 11th fastest time by a Briton in history.[4] Later in the year, he ran a wind-assisted 19.99 seconds to beatNethaneel Mitchell-Blake.[4] He was part of the British team that won the4 × 400 m relay at the2022 European Athletics Championships, alongside Matthew Hudson-Smith,Alex Haydock-Wilson andLewis Davey. It was his first major relay.[9] Dobson also finished fourth in the individual200 metres event.[9][8]
Dobson set a new personal best of 44.38s to win a silver medal in the 400 metres at the2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, Italy, on 10 June 2024.[10] Later that month he won his firstnational 400 metres title at the2024 British Athletics Championships to secure a place at theParis Olympics[11] where he went out in the semi-finals of the individual event[12] before claiming a bronze medal as part of the Great Britain 4x400 metre relay team.[13]
Dobson won the 400 metres at the2024 Diamond Leaguefinal in Brussels, Belgium, in a time of 44.49 seconds.[14][15]
On 19 July 2025, Dobson won the 400 metres at theLondon Diamond League Meeting in a new personal best of 44.14 seconds.[16][17] Shortly afterwards he retained his British title at the2025 UK Athletics Championships.[18]
