Richard Kilty

Richard Kilty (born 2 September 1989) is a British former sprinter who competed both Indoor and Outdoor across all the sprint events including 60 metres, 100 metres, 150 metres, and 200 metres. An exceptional starter, and considered a specialist in both 60 metres and relays, he is a former World and double European Champion indoors at 60 metres, and also a silver medalist in the World Athletics Championships, as well as a European and Commonwealth champion in the 4 × 100 metre relay for Great Britain and England respectively. Kilty is one of the few British athletes to have won medals at every major championships, indoors and out, including the World Relays.

A core member of the Great Britain relay squad, Kilty has won medals at every major championship, including a global silver medal running legs in the finals of the World Championships in 2019. Kilty was one of the few British athletes to have won medals in all seven available major indoor and outdoor championships, including gold in both the Commonwealth Games and the European Athletics Championships as a relay runner, gold in the European and World Indoors as a 60 metre specialist, and medals, again as a relay runner, in the World Athletics World Relays, the World Athletics specialist event for international relays runners.

Having originally won silver in the relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on 18 February 2022 it was announced that Kilty and his teammates Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Zharnel Hughes, and CJ Ujah would be stripped of their 4 × 100 metres relay 2020 Summer Olympics silver medals after Court of Arbitration for Sport found CJ Ujah guilty of a doping violation. Three years later, aged 34, he was a heat runner as Great Britain won the bronze medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay in Paris.

Having been coached for several years by 1992 Olympic 100 m champion Linford Christie, Kilty switched to Rana Reider in late 2013, when the American coach was recruited by UK Athletics. He is the 2014 World, and 2015 and 2017 European Indoor 60 m champion. He also gained numerous British national sprint titles, including UK junior 100 m champion and two-time English Schools national 100 metres champion, during his years at Northfield School and Sports College. On the British club-level he represents Gateshead Harriers.

Nicknamed "The Teesside Tornado" His personal bests for the three individual events are 6.49 seconds (60 m), 10.01 seconds (100 m) and 20.34 seconds (200 m), respectively.

As an age-grade runner he was ranked first in Great Britain over 200 m in the U23 age group in 2011, with a time of 20.53 seconds. He won a silver at the 2011 European Athletics U23 Championships with the British 4 × 100 metres relay team. For the majority of 2011 he was without a coach and not funded, but he achieved personal bests in the 100  and 200 m.

Kilty announced his retirement from athletics in March 2025.