Toby Sandeman
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2 March 1988 (age 29) Hammersmith, London, England |
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Toby Sandeman (born 2 March 1988) is an English fashion model and sprint athlete, specialising in the 200 metres. He won the 200 m at the UK Athletics national championships in 2009, and followed this with two gold medals at the European Athletics U23 Championships. He has modelled for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and worked with Naomi Campbell for Vogue magazine.
Born in Hammersmith, London, Sandeman was introduced to athletics from an early age: his family enjoyed the feats of former British sprinter Linford Christie. He lived in Barbados from the age of 6 to 15 and returned to England on a rugby scholarship with Downside School. He found himself more drawn to athletics competitions, however, and competed at the English Schools' Athletics Championships. He failed to pass the first round and, as he advanced through the age groups, victory never came. In spite of this, he remained passionate about the sport and a chance training opportunity with childhood hero Christie arose when his mother won a competition. After the session, Christie recommended his old coach, Ron Roddan, to Sandeman. He trained with Roddan through his teens and competed in the 200 metres at the UK Athletics national championships in 2008. A hamstring injury forced him to withdraw but he vowed to his coach that he would return and win the following year.
Sandeman's modelling career had blossomed by this point: Trevor Sorbie, a renowned hairdresser, was a family friend and had suggested he try modelling. Despite his initial reluctance, Sandeman went on to work for Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and did a Vogue photoshoot with Naomi Campbell. This work enabled him to save up enough money to focus on just his athletics career for a whole year. He returned to the national championships in 2009 and fulfilled his promise to his coach, beating Marlon Devonish, Christian Malcolm, and then-European leader Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun to take the 200 m national title. Having a previous best of a modest 20.96 seconds before the championships, his 20.69 s performance in the final was a surprise victory.
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