Thomas Bishop (born 9 July 1991) is a British triathlete. He has represented England at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and finished in 7th place in the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Series overall standings.[1] Originally from Derby, Bishop graduated from the University of Leeds and is now based in the city, training at the Leeds Triathlon Centre. He was part of the British mixed relay team that won gold at the 2016 Lisbon ETU European Championships and has achieved a number of podiums on both the international and European triathlon circuits, including silver at the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi 2017.[2] [3]
Bishop has been racing competitive triathlon for over a decade and has enjoyed a huge amount of success during that time. Bursting onto the scene, Bishop took gold in his first international race at the 2008 Holten ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup when he was just 16.[4] Two years later, Bishop worked his way to a world junior silver medal, taking 3rd place at the 2010 Nancy ETU Duathlon European Championships, 4th place at the 2010 Athlone ETU Triathlon European Championships and 2nd place at the 2010 ITU Triathlon World Championship Grand Final Budapest.[5] [6] [7]
He found himself on the overall podium once more after graduating to U23 racing and Elite Men's races in 2011. He opened the year with a 5th-place finish whilst racing with the Elite Men at the 2011 Banyoles ITU Triathlon Premium European Cup.[8] In September of the same year, Bishop earned the world U23 bronze medal after taking 3rd place at the 2011 ITU World Championship Grand Final Beijing.[9] [10]
The following year saw Bishop on the podium a total of five times, both at the U23 and Elite level. Success began in June for Bishop, winning the Elite Men's race at the 2012 Cremona ITU Sprint Triathlon European Cup and taking silver at the 2012 Holten ITU Triathlon Premium European Cup.[11] [12] He then travelled to Spain in September and took home two bronze medals, one in the U23 race at the 2012 Aguilas ETU Triathlon U23 and Youth European Championships and another in the mixed relay where he raced alongside his brother, David Bishop, as well as Lios Rosindale and Non Stanford.[13] [14] The year was brought to a close with another 3rd-place finish, this time at the 2012 Barfoot and Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final Auckland in which Bishop shared the U23 podium with Spain's Fernando Alarza and Australia's Aaron Royle.[15]
In June, 2013, Bishop won the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research Blenheim Palace Triathlon, finishing in just over one hour.[16]
Throughout the next few years, Bishop recorded a number of high profile, top ten finishes as he worked his transitioned out of U23 racing and into Elite Men's. Recording 6th-place finishes at the 2014 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup and 2014 Madrid ETU Triathlon European Cup Final, Bishop also reached 5th at the 2015 Geneva ETU Triathlon European Championships and secured a bronze medal in the mixed relay at the same event, racing alongside Jodie Stimpson, Lucy Hall and Matthew Sharp for Great Britain.[17] [18] [19] [20]
The following year saw Bishop take home gold at the 2016 Lisbon ETU Triathlon European Championships after the Great Britain mixed relay team, made up of Bishop, Lucy Hall, India Lee and Grant Sheldon beat out Russia by 5 seconds.[21]
Bishop found himself on the podium again in 2017 when he finished in ahead of France's Vincent Luis to take home the silver at the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi.[22] The same year also saw a number of top-ten finishes from Bishop including a 5th-place finish on home soil at the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Leeds.[23] Bishop ended 2017 ranked seventh in the world, many referring to this year as his breakthrough season.[24] [25]
In 2018, Bishop again found success in England, racing as part of another successful mixed relay team. This time being joined by Non Stanford, Vicky Holland and Jonathan Brownlee, Great Britain raced to a 2nd-place finish at the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Nottingham.[26] This was part of a busy year for Bishop, as he travelled to the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April, finishing 19th.[27] [28]
Bishops strongest performances in 2019 came at the 2019 Daman World Triathlon Abu Dhabi in which he placed 9th in the Elite Men's race and 7th in the mixed relay.[29] [30] [31]
Bishop began triathlon as a twelve-year-old after he and his brother grew up surrounded by sport.[32] Bishop often played football and cricket at school and even took part in archery and karate before taking up cross country running with his brother.[33]
Speaking about the influence of his parents on his sporting success, Bishop said: "We did sport all the time as kids but our parents were never pushy, they just wanted us to have fun. I think that’s the best for development because you actually learn to love your sport rather than it be forced upon you".
The following list is based upon the official ITU rankings and the ITU's Athlete Profiles.[34] [35] Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons in the Elite Men's category.
| Date | Competition | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14th Mar 2020 | 2020 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup | 14th | |
| 16th Aug 2019 | 2019 Tokyo ITU World Triathlon Olympic Qualification Event | 15th | |
| 6th Jul 2019 | 2019 Hamburg Wasser World Triathlon | 38th | |
| 29th Jun 2019 | 2019 Groupe Copley World Triathlon Montreal | 29th | |
| 9th Jun 2019 | 2019 AJ Bell World Triathlon Leeds | 13th | |
| 18 May 2019 | 2019 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama | 20th | |
| 9th Mar 2019 | 2019 Daman World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Abu Dhabi | 7th | |
| 8th Mar 2019 | 2019 Daman World Triathlon Abu Dhabi | 9th | |
| 16th Sep 2018 | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Gold Coast | 23rd | |
| 26th Aug 2018 | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Montreal | 24th | |
| 27th Jul 2018 | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Edmonton | DNF | |
| 15th Jul 2018 | 2018 Hamburg ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships | 4th | |
| 14th Jul 2018 | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Hamburg | 17th | |
| 10th Jun 2018 | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Leeds | 6th | |
| 6th Jun 2018 | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Nottingham | 2nd | |
| 12 May 2018 | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama | 24th | |
| 5th Apr 2018 | 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games | 19th | |
| 2nd Mar 2018 | 2018 ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi | 14th | |
| 16th Sep 2017 | 2017 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Rotterdam | 10th | |
| 26th Aug 2017 | 2017 ITU World Triathlon Stockholm | 6th | |
| 16th Jul 2017 | 2017 Hamburg ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships | 4th | |
| 15th Jul 2017 | 2017 ITU World Triathlon Hamburg | 12th | |
| 11th Jun 2017 | 2017 ITU World Triathlon Leeds | 5th | |
| 13 May 2017 | 2017 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama | 12th | |
| 4th Mar 2017 | 2017 ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi | 2nd | |
| 18th Sep 2016 | 2016 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Cozumel | 33rd | |
| 4th Sep 2016 | 2016 ITU World Triathlon Edmonton | 5th | |
| 17th Jul 2016 | 2016 Hamburg ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships | 7th | |
| 16th Jul 2016 | 2016 ITU World Triathlon Hamburg | 49th | |
| 12th Jun 2016 | 2016 ITU World Triathlon Leeds | 20th | |
| 29 May 2016 | 2016 Lisbon ETU Triathlon European Championships (Mixed Relay) | 1st | |
| 28 May 2016 | 2016 Lisbon ETU Triathlon European Championships | 19th | |
| 14 May 2016 | 2016 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama | 49th | |
| 9th Apr 2016 | 2016 ITU World Triathlon Gold Coast | 42nd | |
| 5th Mar 2016 | 2016 ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi | 32nd | |
| 6th Sep 2015 | 2015 ITU World Triathlon Edmonton | 11th | |
| 2nd Aug 2015 | 2015 Rio de Janeiro ITU World Olympic Qualification Event | 33rd | |
| 12th Jul 2015 | 2015 Geneva ETU Triathlon European Championships (Mixed Relay) | 3rd | |
| 11th Jul 2015 | 2015 Geneva ETU Triathlon European Championships | 5th | |
| 14th Jun 2015 | 2015 Baku European Games | 16th | |
| 31 May 2015 | 2015 ITU World Triathlon London | 49th | |
| 16 May 2015 | 2015 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama | DNF | |
| 3 May 2015 | 2015 Antalya ETU Triathlon European Cup | 12th | |
| 29th Mar 2015 | 2015 ITU World Triathlon Auckland | 13th | |
| 14th Mar 2015 | 2015 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup | 19th | |
| 12th Oct 2014 | 2014 Cartagena ITU Triathlon World Cup | 16th | |
| 5th Oct 2014 | 2014 Cozumel ITU Triathlon World Cup | 30th | |
| 28th Sep 2014 | 2014 Alanya ITU Triathlon World Cup | 12th | |
| 21st Sep 2014 | 2014 Madrid ETU Triathlon European Cup Final | 6th | |
| 23rd Aug 2014 | 2014 ITU World Triathlon Stockholm | 13th | |
| 6th Apr 2014 | 2014 ITU World Triathlon Auckland | 28th | |
| 23rd Mar 2014 | 2014 New Plymouth ITU Triathlon World Cup | 27th | |
| 15th Mar 2014 | 2014 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup | 6th | |
| 12th Sep 2013 | 2013 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final London (U23) | 31st | |
| 29th Jun 2013 | 2013 Holten ETU Triathlon U23 and Youth European Championships | 22nd | |
| 20th Oct 2012 | 2012 Barfoot and Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final Auckland (U23) | 3rd | |
| 2nd Sep 2012 | 2012 Aguilas ETU Triathlon U23 and Youth European Championships (Mixed Relay) | 3rd | |
| 1st Sep 2012 | 2012 Aguilas ETU Triathlon U23 and Youth European Championships (U23) | 3rd | |
| 7th Jul 2012 | 2012 Holten ITU Triathlon Premium European Cup | 2nd | |
| 10th Jun 2012 | 2012 Cremona ITU Sprint Triathlon European Cup | 1st | |
| 10th Sep 2011 | 2011 ITU World Championship Grand Final Beijing (U23) | 3rd | |
| 20th Aug 2011 | 2011 Lausanne ITU Elite Sprint Triathlon World Championships | 23rd | |
| 31st Jul 2011 | 2011 Banyoles ITU Triathlon Premium European Cup | 5th | |
| 12th Sep 2010 | 2010 ITU Triathlon World Championship Grand Final Budapest (Junior) | 2nd | |
| 4th Jul 2010 | 2010 Athlone ETU Triathlon European Championships (Junior) | 4th | |
| 1 May 2010 | 2010 Nancy ETU Duathlon European Championships (Junior) | 3rd | |
| 5th Jul 2009 | 2009 Holten ETU Triathlon European Championships (Junior) | 5th | |
| 23 May 2009 | 2009 Budapest ETU Duathlon European Championships (Junior) | 21st | |
| 16th Jan 2009 | 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival | 16th | |
| 27th Sep 2008 | 2008 Rimini ITU Duathlon World Championships (Junior) | 24th | |
| 28th Jun 2008 | 2008 Holten ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup (Junior) | 1st | |
| 24 May 2008 | 2008 Serres ETU Duathlon European Championships (Junior) | 7th |