Steve Cram was one of the first to highlight the emerging talent of Martyn Rooney, when the athlete was only 19. In a special scouting report published in the Guardian, Cram profiled the 400m runner and tipped him to win gold at the world junior championships in 2006 - a feat he couldn't quite achieve, settling for bronze instead.

Rooney, whose personal best for the 400m is 44.60 seconds, followed up his third-place finish in the 400m with a second bronze at the championships in the 4x400m relay.

During 2008, Rooney comfortably went under the 45-second barrier, posting a time of 44.83 at the London Grand Prix. Although the Beijing Olympics came too soon for him, he did set a new personal best in the semi-final and crossed the line in sixth in the final. And, despite Great Britain finishing out of the medals in the relay, Rooney shone with a 43.70 split - the second fastest of all time by a Briton.

Rooney showed further promise by reaching the semi-finals of the 400m at the 2009 World Championships. His inexperience was apparent, however, as he could only muster seventh in his semi-final, therefore failing to book a place in the showpiece. Personal disappointment failed to deter him though and he bounced back in style, helping his three team-mates to win silver behind United Sates in the relay.

Rooney was considered one of Britain's leading gold medal contenders at the 2010 European Championships but, after struggling to qualify for the final, he started the showpiece in lane one. Still, he managed to manoeuvre himself into position and, with 10 metres to run, he was leading the race only to run out of steam and fade into third. Once again, he picked himself off the floor - if winning a bronze medal put him there - to win silver in the relay.

Rooney suffered disappointment the following year when he failed to progress past the heats of the 400m at the World Championships in Daegu, but it only made him more determined to come back stronger for his home Olympics in London the following year.

London 2012 was less frustrating but no more rewarding for Rooney, who made it to the semi-final heats of his event but was unable to reach the final. Running in the 4x400m final along with Conrad Williams, Jack Green and Dai Greene the quartet came agonisingly close to bronze but missed out by just 0.13s.

Career high:
Winning a silver medal with Great Britain's 4x400m relay team at the European Championships in 2010 while, on a personal note, winning a bronze medal in the 400m - albeit having led the race with the finishing line in sight.

Career low:
Failing to make the 400m final at the 2009 World Championships.

Quotes:
"I wouldn't mind a week of their wages." Martyn Rooney dreams about being on his footballing namesake's wages

"I came here to win it but I ran a bad heat and terrible semi and put myself in a difficult position. It's my own fault and it's something to learn from but I'm very proud to win a medal." Martyn Rooney, July 2010

Trivia
Rooney is first cousins with Irish footballer Ciarán Martyn