Bronson Hearn-Smith
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| Born | 9 December 2009 | ||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | Sprint | ||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Bronson Hearn-Smith (born 9 December 2009) is a British sprinter. He won the gold medal over 200 metres at the 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships.[1]
Biography
Hearn-Smith is from Tiptree, near Colchester, Essex, and attends Thurstable School. Having been a member of Chelmsford Athletics Club he joined the Colchester Harriers athletics club. Initially a long jumper as well as a sprinter, he later focused on the sprint events.[2] He is coached by Stephen Garnham, who previously worked with British sprinter Charlie Dobson at the club. He started sprinting at the age of eleven years-old, and by 2024 he was timed at 10.9 seconds for the 100 metres, which placed him second in this age-group in the United Kingdom.[3]
The following year, he won the Essex schools sprint title and gathered attention on social media when videos of his sprinting went viral and he lowered his personal best to 10.65 seconds for the 100 metres.[3][4] In August 2025, he was runner-up over 100 metres and 200 metres to Divine Iheme at the England Athletics U17 Championships in Birmingham, running 10.67 seconds (-0.6 m/ps) for the 100 metres and 21.40 seconds (+0.3) for the 200 metres, a personal best.[5][6][7]
Hearn-Smith ran a personal best for the 200 metres of 20.95 seconds in June 2026.[2] He was selected as a member of the Great Britain team for the 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships in Italy.[8][9] On 18 July, he won the gold medal in the 200 metres at the championships, running a championship record 20.70 seconds from lane eight, surpassing the previous best set by fellow Briton Ethan Heggarty.[10][11][12] The competition in Rieti marked his first journey outside the United Kingdom.[13]
Personal life
Known for his languid relaxed-looking running style, Hearn-Smith is unable to wear contact lenses and competes in glasses.[13]
References
- ↑ "Bronson Hearn-Smith". World Athletics. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- 1 2 "Colchester Harriers' Bronson Hearn-Smith gets call-up". Colchester Gazette. 1 July 2026. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- 1 2 Awoyungbo, Xaymaca (11 Sep 2025). "From TikTok to beating the clock: meet the 15-year-old sprint sensation taking social media by storm". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ↑ Bachman, Rachel; Fujikawa, Megumi; Jie, Yang (1 August 2025). "The Teenagers Tearing Up the 100-Meter Race". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ↑ "England Athletics Age Group Championships". World Athletics. 10 August 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ↑ Henderson, Jason (12 August 2025). "ENGLAND ATHLETICS U17/15 CHAMPS RESULTS". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ↑ "England Athletics Age Group Championships". World Athletics. 10 August 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ↑ Adams, Tim (1 July 2026). "DIVINE IHEME, FREDDIE ROWE AND SONNY ALLEN LEAD GB EURO U18 TEAM". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- ↑ "Strong Team of 43 Athletes selected for 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships in Italy". British Athletics. 1 July 2026. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- ↑ Trapnell, Jasmine (18 Jul 2026). "20.70! Hearn-Smith glazes to championship record in effortless fashion". European Athletics. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
- ↑ "HEARN-SMITH 200M GOLD AS STUMPENHUSEN THROWS UK DISCUS RECORD AT EURO U18 CHAMPS". Athletics Weekly. 19 July 2026. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Botková breaks continental U20 record to highlight European U18 Championships in Rieti". World Athletics. 19 July 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
- 1 2 Broadbent, Chris (23 Jul 2026). "Bronson Hearn-Smith - The viral sprint sensation whose first trip abroad ended in European gold". European Athletics. Retrieved 26 July 2026.