A name on the list of future British Olympic hopefuls is Sussex’s very own Spencer Thomas. In 2019, the Brighton Phoenix athlete won gold medals at the British Champs and the British U20/23 Champs as well as taking a fantastic silver at the European Under 23s. Kate Matthews caught up with Spencer to chat about his background in the sport, training and dealing with changes following isolation and Coronavirus.
Kate: Who are you?
Spencer: My name is Spencer Thomas, I’m 22 years old and I’m based in Hove. I run for Brighton Phoenix and am coached by Jon Bigg.
I have been working in marketing for 5 years outside of my athletics but have recently started working as a freelance web designer.
Kate: What are your favourite distances/disciplines?
Spencer: My favourite discipline is 800m. It’s an exciting race to compete in, I feel it’s an event where anything can happen!
Kate: How did you get into athletics?
Spencer: I used to be a cyclist when I was younger from about 12 - 15 years old but when I got into year 10 at school I competed in some athletics events. I went to a few sessions with my neighbour to get fit and after going to some after school clubs too where my current coach was coaching, I was asked to come to some sessions with his club which I started to enjoy and gradually got more involved in.
I was always set on 800/1500m and can’t see myself moving away from those for a long time.
Kate: What do you love/hate about the sport?
Spencer: I love a lot of things about the sport, getting to travel to different places I’d never get to visit is amazing. I also love the feeling of doing well in races and feeling like all the hard work has paid off.
Hate - I think the more time you’re in the sport and the higher level you become the more you get frustrated about things, whether that’s under achieving, sponsorship problems or not being able to get into a particular race.
Kate: What has kept you in it?
Spencer: Last year around March I decided I didn’t want to compete anymore, I began to hate everything 
about the sport and could think of nothing worse than competing again. But after having a long think I decided that I had put too much into it to stop, I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of achieving what I knew I could. Last summer I went on to get a silver U23 European medal and win the British Championships over 800m...
I think at the end of the day, you’re going to have highs and lows but that’s all part of the game...
Kate: What is your most proud athletics' achievement moment?
Spencer: Winning the British championships last year, nothing can compare to that feeling.
Kate: What has been the toughest moment?
Spencer: I can’t think of a single ‘toughest’ moment but I think what I said above sums it up quite well.
Kate: How often do you train (in normal times)?
Spencer: I train 6 days a week and have 1 day off, this would include doing 3 sessions in the week, 3 gym sessions, double day runs and a long run on a Sunday.
Kate: Have you had any bad injuries and how did you deal with these?
Spencer: At the beginning of this year I thought I had picked up IT band syndrome, I didn’t know what it was at the time, but it was the most painful injury I’ve had. It lasted for around 4 months in total. Eventually I had a scan which ruled it out as IT band syndrome and after being set some different exercises it cleared up quickly.
Kate: Other than actual achievements/PBs, what has being part of athletics brought to your life?
Spencer: For me being part of athletics has allowed me to travel so much to so many different places, it’s also allowed me to meet loads of different people and friends who I never would have met otherwise.
Kate: Best athletics memory?
Spencer: For me it’s winning the British championships. I don’t think anything can compare to it. I was in disbelief for a long time!
Kate: Weirdest athletics memory? 
Spencer: On a training camp in Portugal in 2015 I was told to do a stride driving both my arms together as it was more ‘efficient’, I didn’t realise it was a joke and ran 100m with both arms moving forward and back at the same time…still makes us laugh 5 years later.
Kate: What would you say to younger people wanting to get started?
Spencer: Try to enjoy the sport as much as possible, make sure you go to a club where you’ll meet some new friends and have fun.
Kate: What would you change about the sport?
Spencer: I’d make the events more exciting, I think Nitro athletics did a great job a couple of years ago in Australia hosting different events like the knockout mile. People want fast moving events, but when you go to an event like the diamond league you end up waiting for 20 minutes in between events which no one wants to do.
Kate: How do you juggle training/competitions around work?
Spencer: I found that I got into a good routine after a while, of course there might be times you can’t make a session or can’t do some training but there are always ways to make things work.
Kate: Favourite athlete (past or present)?
Spencer: Being from Brighton and training at the same club, it has to be Steve Ovett. When you see what he achieved and knowing he’s running around the same area is a huge inspiration.
Kate: How are you managing to keep fit/train during Corona?
Spencer: Training during the Corona virus has been hard as I’ve been training on my own but it makes me mentally tough. I think a good tip is to try and work on some of your weaknesses during this time, maybe you need to work on your core strength or stretch more.