Elise Thorner
British athlete (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elise Thorner (born 16 March 2001) is a British track and field athlete. She was the British champion in the 3000m steeplechase in 2025 and 2026, and won the silver medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 16 March 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Steeplechase | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Wells City/Yeovil | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Helen Clitheroe [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | 1500m: 4:10.28 (Stretford, 2025) Mile: 4:35.72 (Boston, 2024) 3000m: 8:39.87 (Boston, 2026) 5000m: 16:28.59 (Clovis, 2022) 3000m s'chase: 9:05.45 (Glasgow, 2026) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Competing for Great Britain, Thorner won a bronze medal at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in the mixed team relay.[2]
Early life
From Bridgwater, she attended school at Millfield in Somerset. She won gold in the girls' 1500m steeplechase at the School Games National Finals at Loughborough in 2017.[3] She attended[4] New Mexico University and transferred to the University of Florida in 2023,[5] where she joined her brother in the Florida Gators Track & Field program.[6]
Biography
In April 2022, she set a new personal best for the 3000m steeplechase, running 9:40:98 in California.[7] On 29 April 2022, she set an English U23 record running 9:32.42 at the Payton Jordan Invitational, hosted by Stanford.[8] In June 2022, she finished third in the 3000m steeplechase at the British Championships in Manchester.[9] She was selected for the a British team for the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich.[10] She finished in 14th place in her heat for the 3000 metres steeplechase, in a time of 10:08.46.[11]
In April 2023, she won the Bryan Clay Invitational 3000m steeplechase in California, running 9:39.39.[12] She finished fourth in the final of the 3000m steeplechase at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo in 9:47.85.[13]
In April 2024, she went to fourth on the all-time British list for the 3000m steeplechase, running 9:28.49 in California.[14][15] At the same event, she ran 4:14.55 for the 1500 metres.[16] She qualified for the final of the 3000m steeplechase at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.[17] In June 2024, she finished runner-up at the British Athletics Championships in the 3000 metres steeplechase.[18] She won a bronze medal for the British team in the mixed relay at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey.[19][20]
In May 2025, she set a new personal best for the 3000 metres steeplechase running 9:17.57 in Los Angeles.[21][22] On 12 June 2025, she set another new personal best for the 3000 metres steeplechase running 9:15.06 finishing in seventh place in the 2025 Diamond League event at the Oslo Bislett Games.[23] The time moved her to second on the British all-time list.[24] On 2 August, she became the British 3000 metres steeplechase champion and broke the championship record to win the 2025 UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham in 9:22.05.[25] Later that month, she finished fourth in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2025 Athletissima in wet conditions in Lausanne.[26]
Thorner was selected as part of the British team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where she ran a personal best 9:14.37 to qualify for the final of the 3000 metres steeplechase, placing eleventh overall.[27][28]
On 24 January 2026, Thorner ran 3000 metres in an indoor personal best of 8:39.87 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston.[29] Thorner ran a personal best 9:07.39 to win the 3000 metres steeplechase at the LA Track Fest on 23 May 2026, moving to second on the British all-time list behind Elizabeth Bird.[30] On 7 June, Thorner placed second in the 3000 m steeplechase at the Bauhausgalan in Stockholm, part of the 2026 Diamond League.[31] On 20 June at the 2026 UK Athletics Championships, Thorner won the 3000 m steeplechase in 9:16.95, breaking her own championship record.[32]
Thorner won the silver medal representing England at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow , running a new personal best time of 9:05.45, overtaking Ugandan former Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai on the final lap.[33][34] Two weeks later, she finished fifth in a time of 9:18.14 at the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham.[35] Competing in the Diamond League at the 2026 Athletissima in Lausanne, Switzerland on 21 August 2026, she was the leading European finisher in eighth overall in a race including three German runners who finished ahead of her at the European Championships.[36] At the 2026 Diamond League Final in Brussels in September, she placed tenth in the 3000 metres steeplechase.[37]