Speaker Profile

Former sprint athlete, Darren Campbell MBE won a number of medals during his highly successful career. He competed in the 100m and 200m events, as well as being a member of one of Britain's most successful relay teams ever.

Born in 1973, Darren showed great promise as a youngster for both athletics and football. A talented sprinter, he soon began to win medals at major events, including gold in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay in 1991 European Junior Championships, and a gold in the relay at the World Junior Championships in 1992. After a brief spell playing football professionally in the early 1990s, he made the decision to return to athletics, taking part in his first Olympics shortly afterwards.

Darren's ability meant that he soon became a regular on the British squad, and 1997 saw him win his first senior medal: a bronze in the 4 x 100m relay at the World Championships. He went on to win two golds in the 1998 European Championships, and in the Commonwealth Games of the same year he won a gold medal as part of the British relay team. At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 he won a silver in the 200m, making him the first British man to reach the 200m podium since Alan Wells two decades earlier. Darren was delighted with this achievement, but was determined to achieve even more.

His crowning moment came in 2004 at the Olympic Games in Athens. In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the 4 x 100m relay event, the British men snatched victory from the US team who were odds on favourites for the gold medal.

He retired shortly after winning gold at the 2006 European Championships. Since retirement he has worked with a number of football clubs, the aim being to improve the players' sprinting ability. He has also been involved with a number of rugby clubs, working to improve power and speed amongst the players. Furthermore, Darren has worked tirelessly with schools to promote sport among children.

Darren is an accomplished keynote and motivational speaker who is both engaging and inspiring. His story makes him an excellent choice as an after dinner speaker.