Rooney - My Life

Born in Croydon, South London to Irish parents, Liam and Marie, Martyn began life as a cross country and middle-distance runner while attending John Fisher School in Purley. While at school, Martyn also tried his hand at rugby and football before he found his calling in life.

His talent for 400m was discovered after he was asked to compete in the one-lap sprint to make up the points in a fixture for his club Croydon Harriers. Under the tutelage of former international 800m runner, Mike Fleet, Martyn ran 49.4 as a 16 year old in 2003.

In 2004, Martyn improved his personal best for 400m to 47.46 the following year and was selected for his first major international at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosetto, Italy. Upon arriving in Italy it was discovered that Martyn was in possession of an Irish rather than a British passport and was therefore not eligible to compete. Even though the Irish federation made a last ditch attempt to claim Martyn, he chose to wait until 2005 to claim his first British vest.

In 2005, with a British passport now firmly in his pocket, Martyn made his first impact on the international athletic scene at the European Junior Championships, winning a silver medal in the 400m and anchoring the Great Britain 4x400m team to gold in Lithuania.

Such was his performance he was called up to the Great Britain 4x400m relay squad for the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki later that summer. Originally selected as an alternate to run in the heats, his relay split of 44.9 ensured that the selectors were left under no illusion that Martyn was mature beyond his years. He repaid the selector's faith by running an impressive 44.8 relay leg to help Great Britain to fourth in the final and earned praise in the BBC studio from 400m World Record holder, Michael Johnson.

The following March, Martyn, while still a junior, travelled to Melbourne as part of the England team for the Commonwealth Games. Martyn impressed everyone through the rounds of the 400m, smashing Roger Black's 21-year-old British Junior record with an impressive 45.35 clocking. In the final he ran 45.51 for fifth place.

Now being coached by Nick Dakin at Loughboruogh University, Martyn's main focus for 2006 was the IAAF World Junior Championships in Bejing China. After finishing second at the AAA Championships, he travelled to China ranked number 1 junior in the world over 400m. Running at the newly constructed Bird's Nest stadium Martyn won an impressive bronze medal in the individual 400m while also leading the British 4x400m relay team to a 3rd place finish.

In his first year as a senior athlete, Martyn again won silver at the AAA's Championships in Manchester and despite running a season's best of 45.47 at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, he was eliminated in the first round. Regaining his composure, Martyn then helped the British 4x400m relay team to the final and a 6th place finish.

After a disappointing 2007 and with many commentators and pundits voicing opinions that Martyn should make the move to 800m, he focused on the Olympic Games and showing that he is a world class 400m runner.

2008 began with Martyn winning the 400m for Britain at the European Cup in Annecy, France. Then the breakthrough that made the world sit up and take notice of the 6'5" sprinter from Croydon. At the Aviva London Grand Prix in Crystal Palace, Martyn smashed through the 45-second barrier for the first time to win against World Indoor Champion Tyler Christopher of Canada and training partner David Gillick of Ireland. It took only three days for Martyn to show that London was not a one off, when he took the 400m by storm at the Monaco Grand Prix, winning in a time of 44.72 seconds.

The 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing offered Martyn the chance to return to the Bird's Next Stadium where he won bronze at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships. He made light work of his first round and then improved on his lifetime best in the semi when coming through with a late surge to run a time of 44.60 seconds and qualify for the Olympic final. In the final Martyn finished 6th in a time of 45.12.