Jamie Baulch facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jamie Baulch

Personal information
Nationality	British (Welsh)
Born	(1973-05-03) 3 May 1973 (age 52) Nottingham, England
Height	1.75 m
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	400m
Club	Cardiff AAC
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games Silver 1996 Atlanta 4 × 400 m relay World Championships Gold 1997 Athens 4 × 400 m relay World Indoor Championships Gold 1999 Maebashi 400 m Silver 1997 Paris 400 m Silver 2003 Birmingham 400 m European Championships Gold 1998 Budapest 4 × 400 m relay Gold 2002 Munich 4 × 400 m relay Representing  Wales Commonwealth Games Silver 2002 Manchester 4 × 400 m relay Bronze 1998 Kuala Lumpur 4 × 400 m relay

James Stephen Baulch (born 3 May 1973) is a Welsh athlete who used to run very fast. He was a sprinter and later became a television presenter. Jamie won a gold medal in the 400 metres at the World Indoor Championships in 1999. He was also part of the British 4 × 400 metres relay teams. With these teams, he won a gold medal at the World Championships in 1997. He also earned a silver medal at the Olympic Games in 1996. Jamie represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games. There, he won an individual silver medal and a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay.

Jamie Baulch's Athletics Career

Starting Out as a Runner

Jamie Baulch first competed for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team in 1991. This was at a junior event in Salamanca, Spain. He won the 200-meter race and set a new Welsh record. After this, Jamie decided to focus on the 400-meter race. He became very good at running this distance, especially indoors. Indoor races are usually on 200-meter tracks. Outdoor tracks are twice as long, at 400 meters.

Jamie won the 400m gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in 1999. He also took home silver medals in 1997 and 2003 at the same event. In 1993, he set a Welsh record of 46.50 seconds in his first 400m race since 1990. By 1995, he had improved his time to 45.14 seconds.

Olympic and World Championship Success

In 1996, Jamie ran a very fast 44.19-second leg for Britain's Olympic relay team. This team won a silver medal and set a European record. Jamie also set his fifth Welsh record with a time of 44.57 seconds.

Jamie was part of the British 4 × 400m relay team that finished second at the 1997 World Championships. However, in 2010, it was announced that the British team would receive the gold medal. This was because the United States team, which had won first place, had a runner who admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Jamie received his gold medal in May 2010. He was happy but also said it would have been amazing to get it in front of a huge crowd.

In 1997, he set Welsh indoor records of 46.36 and 46.13 seconds. He then broke a 12-year-old UK and Commonwealth indoor record with 45.39 seconds. He won a World Indoor silver medal that year. Later, he reached the World final outdoors with a best time of 44.69 seconds. He also ran a 44.08-second leg for the British silver-medal relay team.

In 1999, Jamie won all five of his 400m competitions. This included winning the gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, Japan. He also ran his best time of 45.60 seconds in Birmingham. Outdoors, he ran his best time of 44.82 seconds in Lausanne. He then won easily at the AAAs championships with 45.36 seconds. At the World Championships, he ran four individual races in the low 45-second range. He reached the final again and ran a 44.24-second anchor leg for the British team.

Later Career and Relays

In 2000, Jamie won the 400m at the European Cup. His best time that season was 45.06 seconds. However, he had a tough time at the Olympic Games, not getting past the heats in the 400m. But he ran a strong final leg of 44.65 seconds to help Britain reach the relay final.

Jamie was chosen as captain of the British team for the 2001 World Indoors. But he had to pull out due to an injury. He struggled with his form that summer, with a best time of 46.15 seconds. However, he ran a good 44.4-second leg for the British team in the World 4 × 400m final. In 2002, he was again very effective in relays. He ran a 45.1-second third leg to help Britain win the European Cup 4 × 400m. He also ran a 44.5-second third leg for the Welsh team. This team won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in a race against England.

He returned to good form in 2003, winning two bronze medals at the World Indoors. He ran 45.99 seconds to share the individual bronze medal. He also won a bronze in the relay. He ran a strong third leg for the British 4 × 400m team at the European Cup.

Changing Coaches

Jamie Baulch decided to change his coach to improve his athletics career. He left his coach Linford Christie and moved to Atlanta. There, he trained with Innocent Egbunike from Nigeria. Innocent Egbunike was also a successful runner, winning a bronze medal in the 4 × 400m relay at the 1984 Olympics. He also won a silver medal in the individual 400m at the World Championships in 1987.

Jamie Baulch's Media Career

After his running career, Jamie Baulch became a television presenter. In 1999 and 2000, he hosted a British children's TV show called Energize!. He also appeared on popular sports shows like A Question of Sport. In 2003, he finished third in the BBC show Superstars.

In 2007, he was a trainee ranger in a show called Safari School. In 2014, he competed on Celebrity Mastermind, where his special subject was the musician Prince. Jamie also took part in a circus act on Cirque de celebrite. In July 2012, before the London 2012 Summer Olympics, he appeared on an Olympic special of Dancing on Ice. This show featured Olympic athletes who had won medals.

After Athletics and Business Ventures

After retiring from athletics in 2005, Jamie Baulch started several businesses. These included a sports management company called Definitive and a sports memorabilia company called Authentic Sports.

Jamie also launched a fundraising platform called uWin. He also started a company called BidAid, which helps host silent auctions. Jamie is also a part-owner of a fashion brand called Crow & Jester. He has also been involved with Jaguar Cars. From 2009 to 2015, Jamie was an Ambassador for the Jaguar Academy of Sport. In this role, he helped guide and support young British sports stars.

Jamie leads an online fitness challenge called "The 21 Day ShapeUp by the Family." In 2010, Jamie also joined the Welsh touch rugby team. This team went on to win the European Cup later that year.

Helping Others: Charity Work

Jamie Baulch has been involved in a lot of charity work.

• He has worked with Ty Hafan, a children's hospice in Wales.
• Jamie also competed in a race against a racehorse to raise money for Barnardos.
• He ran in the London Marathon in 2011, also raising money for Barnardos.
• Jamie is the founder and owner of BidAid. This is an online charity auction business. Since it started in 2016, BidAid has helped raise millions of pounds for good causes. It provides technology and special items for online, mixed, and live fundraising events. It also offers top-notch software for charity auctions.

Trampolining Skills

Before he became a famous runner, Jamie Baulch was very good at trampolining. In 1991, he won a silver medal at the Welsh Schools Trampoline Championship.

Jamie Baulch's Family Life

Jamie Baulch was born in Nottingham, England. He was raised by his adoptive parents in Risca, a town near Newport, Wales. Jamie is of mixed race. His biological mother is white English, and his biological father is black Jamaican.

In 2014, Jamie made a TV documentary for the BBC called Being Jamie Baulch: Looking for My Birth Mum. In this show, he found and met his birth mother. He then made another BBC documentary in 2016, called Being Jamie Baulch: The Search for My Birth Dad.

Jamie Baulch's Achievements

Best Times Outdoors

Best Times Indoors

Medals Won

See also

In Spanish: Jamie Baulch para niños