Louie Hinchliffe: Britain's 100m prodigy and Olympic bronze medallist
For British sprint phenomenon Louie Hinchliffe, the summer of 2024 was one for the books.
First, the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon – the prestigious annual contest for student-athletes in the United States. Here, on Friday 7 June, 21-year-old Hinchcliffe – who was born in Sheffield but now attends the University of Houston – lined up for the 100m final. The result? An outstanding sub-10-second personal best of 9.95, which doubled as the nine-fastest 100m result in the world so far this year. What’s more, this performance placed him sixth on the all-time UK list for the 100m and marked the first time in history that a European had won a NCAA Championships 100m title. And, only two weeks prior to this, Hinchliffe charged to a wind-assisted 9.84 seconds in the 100m at the NCAA regionals in Fayetteville, Arkansas. That’s quite some warning sign for his competitors.
Next, just over three weeks later, newcomer Hinchliffe returned to home soil for the UK Athletics Championships in Manchester – a key qualifying event for the 2024 Olympic Games. Here, on Saturday 27 June and with nothing to lose, he defied the damp, dreary conditions to run a scorching 10.18 for the 100m, pushing him ahead of rapid Welshman Jeremiah Azu. This fearless sprint was enough to secure Hinchliffe the gold medal – and, more importantly, a ticket to Paris to compete in the 100m for Team GB.
At these Olympics, Hinchliffe will share the straight with experienced countrymen Jeremiah Azu – whom he pipped to the post in Manchester – and Zharnel Hughes, who has already won European Championships and Commonwealth gold medals. He’ll also face a host of international favourites including the USA’s Noah Nyles, the current world champion in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay, and Italian Marcell Jacobs, the reigning Olympic and European 100m champion.
Getting faster, fast
Having bagged a role on the Olympic stage at such an early point in his professional career, Hinchliffe has exhibited enormous improvement over the past few months – in terms of both his commitment to and results in the sport. And with a distinctive mullet haircut and set of safety pins in his ears, he is not one to shy away from the spotlight or the pressure of major competitions.
‘This is the first year that I have taken my athletics seriously,’ said Hinchliffe – who was an accomplished junior golfer with a handicap of 0.7 – after his UK Athletics Championships victory in June. ‘I used to focus on golf until a couple of years ago, but now I am really focused 100% on training, nutrition, rest – the whole deal.
‘It means everything to be going to Paris,’ continued Hinchliffe at the time, who was only a child when he witnessed British athletes like Jessica Ennis-Hill – a fellow Sheffielder – storm to greatness at the 2012 Olympics in London. ‘I have dreamed about the Olympics since I was a kid. I will go with the attitude that I can win. I seem to do well in the high-pressure situations, so who knows?’
Led by an Olympic legend
Behind every great athlete is a great team – in particular, a great coach.
Hinchliffe certainly hit the jackpot when he began training under the expert wing of American track and field icon Carl Lewis, a nine-time Olympic gold medallist and eight-time world champion across the 100m, 200m, 4 x 100m relay and long jump, who now coaches at the University of Houston. Before studying and training in Houston, Yorkshireman Hinchliffe spent a freshman year competing for Washington State University, and before that, a period studying business and IT at Lancaster University in the UK.
Although he’d already snatched the England Athletics 100m title in 2022, it wasn’t until he started following the lead of Lewis in 2023 that Hinchliffe’s electric talent really started to turn heads. Even Lewis was pleasantly shocked by the young, previously unknown athlete’s courageous run at the UK Athletics Championships last month – and he is now expecting a gleaming, medal-laden future for the Brit should he continue to mature and stay focused on the task at hand.
‘Louie still has some time to improve and I think he can become one of the best Britain has had,’ says Lewis.
And if the best from Hinchliffe is still yet to come, then it’s safe to say that we are in for a treat – especially since he already has an Olympic bronze medal to his name.
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