Career
Turner competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but failed to progress beyond the heats. Turner was third over the 110 m hurdles at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in a time of 13.62 seconds. He won the bronze medal in the 110 m hurdles at the 2006 European Athletics Championships, and finished fourth at the 2007 European Indoor Athletics Championships. He narrowly failed to make it into the final of the 110 m hurdles at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Athletics with his time in the third semi-final 0.05 seconds outside the second fastest losers' spot.
Andy Turner represented Great Britain for a second time at the 2008 Summer Olympics and reached the quarter-finals stage. Following this performance, UK Athletics reviewed athletes funding and Turner's basic lottery grant of around £12,000 was cut, based on the assumption that he would not be a medal hopeful for the following year's World Championships.
At the beginning of the 2009 athletics season, he finished fourth in the 60 metres hurdles in the European Athletics Indoor Championships, narrowly missing out on a medal. After competing in the 150 metres street race at the Great CityGames in Manchester, Turner won the 110 m hurdles at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in 13.30 seconds, close to a personal best. He won the 110 m hurdles at the 2009 European Team Championships, and said he intended to prove to UK Athletics, that he could compete at the highest level in the sport. He entered the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, but was eliminated in the heats stage while carrying an injury. He went on to finish the season at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, where he was fifth.
The following year he competed at the 2010 European Team Championships in Bergen, winning the 110 m hurdles competition in 13.48 seconds to help Great Britain to second place overall in the tournament. Turner went on to his most significant victory to date in the 110 m hurdles at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona later that year. In the final, Turner got off to a quick start, but trailed Petr Svoboda in the final with thirty metres remaining, but when Svoboda collided badly with the eighth hurdle, Turner powered through and won in a time of 13.28.
Turner completed a successful 2010 season by winning the Commonwealth Games 110 m hurdles title in New Delhi in 13.38.
He then went on to win a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics after Dayron Robles was disqualified for putting Liu Xiang of China off balance.
Read more about this topic: Andy Turner (athlete)
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