July 14, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM - Rising fifth-year senior Michael Bingham finished third in the 400-meter dash at the Aviva National Championships in Birmingham, Great Britain, over the weekend to earn a selection onto Great Britain's Olympic Team.

Bingham's third place finish qualified him for a spot on the 4x400-meter relay squad which was selected by the members of the Great Britain Olympic Committee.

The Burlington, N.C. native, whose father is a Great Britain citizen, entered the championships with a personal-best time of 45.57, which was just .02 of a second over the Olympic "A" standard of 45.55.

Bingham failed to eclipse that mark in any of his three races this past weekend but he has one last opportunity to meet the Olympic "A" standard as he will compete in a meet this Thursday, July 17, in Great Britain. If he is able to break the 45.55 mark, he will earn a spot to compete in the individual 400-meter dash in Beijing.

Bingham, who obtained full citizenship in Great Britain this past year, redshirted at Wake Forest in 2008 after earning All-American honors in the 400-meter dash during both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2007. He is also a two-time ACC-Champion and has earned All-ACC honors during both the indoor and outdoor campaigns for each of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Despite focusing on the 400-meter dash and being the school-record holder in the event, Bingham also ranks high in other events on the Wake Forest All-Time Performance Lists. He is second in the decathlon with 7,162 points, third in the 400-meter hurdles, fourth in the 200-meter dash at 20.86, and sixth in the 100-meter dash at 10.54.