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UK Middle Distance Runner, James Thie, is the current Welsh Record holder in both Indoor 1500m and 1 mile. A Nike athlete, James runs for Cardiff AAC and New York AC. James has made a name for himself as a fearless competitor who's never afraid to travel the globe to gain success! Scroll down for the latest news.
| "All in a day's work" |
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| After gaining silver in AAAs |
Verizon Millrose Games (Madison Square Garden, NYC) to AAA National Championship Sheffield, UK) in 16 hours
National and international press were keen to jump on the story. Thie raced in two different cities, in two different countries, in two different continents in less than 16 hours. On Friday night at 9.00 pm (NY time) Thie finished second in the famous Wanamaker Mile at Madison Square Garden in front of a crowd of over 12,000. James had to settle for second place (4:04.28), after closing on Brazil's Hudson de Souza (4:02.93) in the final lap in what was a magnificent event. After the race James was clear on his objectives, 'on with the next!'
Twenty minutes later he had hailed a yellow cab to take him to JFK airport to return to Britain in time for the National AAA 1500m Championship heats the next day. James comments 'I had to do my warm down jogging around the café at JFK while keeping an eye on my kit! 'After catching an internal flight to Manchester, James was picked up by girlfriend Alex and drove the distance to the city of Sheffield, arriving just over one hour before the race was due to start at 6.00pm (UK time) 10 minutes later, James discovered that the heats were cancelled in place of a straight final that evening!
An adrenalin pumped James put on a brand new pair of Nike spikes said "F**k it - if that's how they want to do it!". In a rough tactically run race the pace quickened with James stretching his legs to finish a firm second (3:46.76) behind Commonwealth Champion Michael East. Thie commented 'Michael is in fantastic form so I am not sure if I would have won anyway'. James beat of stiff competition from the likes of the expereinced Mat Shone and 2003 3k World representative Tom Mayo, and former 800m champion Neil Speight.
Click on one of the links below to read some of the international coverage of James Weekend!
The Times Online, The Independent, Yahoo! Sport, UK: Athletics, Sportinglife.com, Britishathletics.info 
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| Picture courtesy of The Royal Gazette January 18. 2004 |
16th January 2004 Hamilton, Bermuda
James Thie (Wales/ Cardiff/ NYAC) returned to Bermuda to defend his mile title last night and won despite the stiff competition from top Kenyan athletes Elkanah Angwenyi and Patrick Nthiwa. The stormy 45 mph winds battered the athletes which resulted in a slow tactical race with the welsh record holder Thie, winning from Angwenyi in a time of 4:18.81. James comments the crowd were amazing, I was cheered on for the whole mile. The atmosphere was fantastic again and all the athletes were well looked after for the entire trip. I am looking forward to making it a triple victory next year in a sub-4 minute mile!
A full set of results can be found by following this link . For excellent commentary from The Royal Gazette follow this link.
24th Jan 2004, The Armory, NY
James had to settle for third place, in a tight three way dive for the line, in what was one of the many thrilling races of the day. The Kenyan, Elkanah Angwenyi, (James victim from the Bermuda Front Street mile the week before) won in a time of 4:02.73 ahead of Whiteman who was 0.05 behind and James who came home in 4:02.89. Disappointment for James who comments 'the Armory is like my home track. It hurts more to get beaten here. But that's the risk every athlete takes in a slow run race. Things like this just make me more determined next time.' As defending champion, all eyes were on James and as the home favourite. He recieved support from many different people such as all the Armory crew and Peter Walsh who continued to support James with his world class food at Coogans resturant situated next to the track.
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| Tom Buffalano -Director of Marketing |
Grand Opening
National Track & Field Hall of Fame
Sat. Jan 24, 2004
James, alongside girlfriend Alex, had the pleasure of witnessing the grand opening of this fantastic facility. The Hall of Fame can be found in the Armory Centre and is open to the public. Spending just 2 minutes inside this amazing new development is enough to inspire the athlete in the most unlikely of person. It is a tribute to the greats that have achieved so much and an inspiration to the next generation. Next time you are in New York, it is imperative that you go to Washington Heights and a pay a visit to the Hall of Fame!
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