Dobson ready to make his mark on Olympic debut in Paris

Charlie Dobson’s eye-catching rise in recent years means he is one to watch heading into his Olympic debut and the 400m star is determined to live up to the hype.

Having first established himself as a sprinter over shorter distances, he made his name over one lap of the track in 2021 when he matched the fastest time by a Brit across the year with his only run of that distance.

He has since channelled his focus on the longer distance and after winning European silver in Rome, Dobson booked his ticket to this summer’s Paris Olympics by winning the 400m in the UK Championships.

“The race felt really good,” Dobson said. “I went into it with one goal. I focused on myself and on my lane, and I got the job done at the end of the day, so I was really happy with that.

“There’s been a lot building up to this. It’s been a tough few years so to finally get it done and be saying I’m going to Paris is pretty amazing.

“I probably wouldn’t have believed it if you’d told me I would be in this position a few years ago.”

While Dobson might not have predicted his breakthrough over the longer 400m distance, British 400m legend Iwan Thomas knew that one-lap glory was well within the Colchester athlete’s reach.

“Charlie Dobson - the ginger ninja - the 200m boy. If he steps up and trains for the 400, I think he could run very fast,” said Thomas. Fast-forward two years and this statement has proved to be prophetic.

The Essex ace clocked a personal best of 44.38s in Rome to occupy the second step on the European Championship podium after opening the season with victory at the Meeting Citta Di Savona in Italy.

He has big-stage experience behind him, having won world and European 4x400m medals, but knows he has his work cut out to add Olympic silverware to that collection.

“The big field of athletes [in the 400m] is exciting,” he said.

“European 400m running has come a long way in the last few years. I’ve got Matt [Hudson-Smith] to chase down in Paris but it’ll be good to get out there and race.

“I feel the momentum is with me now. The Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world and having missed it three years ago because of injury, making it this year is the icing on the cake for me.”

Dobson’s rise has been supported by a partnership between SportsAid and Pitching In, a grassroots sport initiative established by Entain, owners of Ladbrokes and Coral.

The 24-year-old was among the annual 50-strong cohort of athletes in both 2020 and 2021 and joins fellow alumnus Luke Whitehouse in Team GB’s Paris-bound squad this summer.

“The Pitching In programme really helped me a lot and was pretty cool to be a part of,” he said.

“SportsAid have helped a lot of quality athletes and they help with the transition from juniors to seniors really well.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.