Phenomenal Rugby athlete Ed Faulds is new British and European 400m record holder

Rugby's Ed Faulds on his way to a record-breaking time

Ed is fastest ever Under 20 runner indoors at 400m - smashing times that had stood for decades

Outstanding Rugby athlete Ed Faulds has smashed times which had stood for decades to become a new British and European record holder.

He is now the fastest ever Under 20 400m runner indoors across the continent.

Saturday saw some of the world’s best athletes head to Birmingham for the Muller Indoor Grand Prix, including Olympic champions and world record holders.

Ed Faulds competing in the 400m in Birmingham, clocking 46.16 for a new British and European Under 20s indoor record

Rugby & Northampton Athletics Club athlete Ed managed to secure an invite to the competition after two strong races to open his indoor season.

Ed won the world tour event in Manchester back in January and then two weeks later improved his indoor personal best to 46.79 and finished 2nd in a world class field of 400m runners in another World Tour event in France.

The men’s 400m race at the Grand Prix saw Ed line up against some of the top athletes in the world.

The field included an Olympic 4x400 medallist, a three-times World Indoor Champion and some of the top ranked athletes in the world in 2022.

Ed Faulds being interviewed by outdoor 400m British record holder Iwan Thomas after the race

In the race itself, Ed got off to a steady start and was lying in sixth place as the athletes hit the bell with 200m to go.

A tremendous surge on the second lap saw Ed move past two athletes down the back straight. One last push and a dramatic lunge for the line saw Ed literally throw himself into third place.

An anxious five minute wait for the times to be displayed followed.

Eventually Ed, who is coached by James Wright, was confirmed in third place and his time of 46.16 flashed up on the big screen.

Ed’s time absolutely smashed the 27-year-old British U20 indoor 400m record.

Not only that, but it also bettered the even older European indoor U20 400m record, which had stood since 1984!

Ed, who joined R&N AC at the age of nine, said afterwards: “It’s every kid’s dream going out and racing in front of a home crowd on a big stage.

“The crowd was definitely a bit of me. I love it here and I will be coming back again.

“It is nice to have my name down on the record sheet, but now I have the outdoor records to get as well!”

It was a phenomenal achievement for the Rugby born 19-year-old, who now looks forward to the British Indoor Championships this weekend.

Ed now has the world indoor championships qualifying time, so victory there would secure a spot on the team for Belgrade.

He goes into the championships with the fastest time on paper, but faces multiple senior British athletes and Tokyo Olympians.

Last summer outdoors, running for Great Britain in Estonia, Ed became double European Under 20s Champion, winning gold in both the 400m and 4x400m relay.

Ed has been benefiting from being a part of the Nike funded British Athletics futures programme since September. The futures camps and extra visits to the high performance centre in Loughborough have been a vital addition to the training programme and support the work Ed does in Rugby with his coach James.