Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake

Background

In a sport where the United States, Jamaica and Great Britain regularly compete for top honors, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake undoubtedly has the background to make him one of the world’s top sprinters.

Born in the Borough of Newham, Nethaneel to a social worker and a plasterer, was raised in London until age 13, when he moved with his parents to Kingston, Jamaica. As a student at Jamaica College in Kingston, Nethaneel wasted no time making his talents known. At age 17, Nethaneel won the Jamican Junior National title at 200m. A year later, he took third over 200m at the prestigious Jamaican High School Championships.

After finishing high school in Jamaica, Nethaneel accepted a scholarship from Louisiana State University, one of the sprint powerhouses in the NCAA. As a freshman at LSU, Nethaneel contributed immediately, scoring points for the Tigers in both the conference championships and as the third leg of their 4x100m Relay. Following the end of the collegiate season, Nethaneel won gold for Great Britain over 200m at the European Junior Championships.

In his third year at LSU, Nethaneel broke the 20-second barrier for 200m for the first time, running 19.95 at the conference championships to become the second fastest Britton of all-time. And while injury curtailed his hopes for an NCAA title, Nethaneel represented Team GB for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2017, just before finishing his International Trade and Finance degree at LSU, Nethaneel broke the 10-second barrier for 100m and finished runner-up at the NCAA Championships 200m final.

Only weeks after turning finishing his university career, Nethaneel finished fourth in the final of the 200m at the IAAF World Championships in London, just miles from where he grew up. Two days later, Nethaneel anchored Team GB to its first-ever IAAF World Championship gold in the 4x100m in a new British record of 37.38. A year later, Nethaneel won the silver medal over 200m at the European Championships in Berlin.

At the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Nethaneel once again anchored Team GB to another medal in the 4x100m relay, winning silver in 37.36, breaking the European record he had helped Great Britain set two years earlier.

Following a 2020 campaign that was limited due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Nethaneel finished second in British Trials over 200m to secure his spot on Team GB for Tokyo 2020, making him a two-time Olympian.

In 2022, Nethaneel returned to top form, winning the British national title over 200m and earning him a spot on Great Britian & Northern Ireland's squad at the World Champinoships in Eugene, Oregon. In Oregon, Nethaneel ran third leg for Team GB's 4x100m relay, winning bronze. The following month, Nethaneel was again a star on relay duty, helping England win gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Just weeks later, Nethaneel finished second in the final of the 200m at the European Championships to win the silver medal. He closed out the championships by helping Britain win gold in the men's 4x100m relay.

When Nethaneel isn’t training to be one of the world’s fastest humans, he can often be found cheering on Arsenal FC and is also an avid fan of gangster films, especially any and all from Martin Scorsese.