Ben Buckingham (athletics) made his Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham where he finished 5th in the men’s 3000m steeplechase as the best-placed Australian. This result followed strong placings in 2021, including wins at the Queensland Track Classic (meet record), the Folksam Grand Prix in Sweden, a silver medal at the Australian championships and an Olympic debut in Tokyo where he finished 7th in his heat in a PB of 8:20.95.  

Growing up on a 600-acre cattle farm near Myrtleford in Victoria’s high country with his mum, dad and two younger sisters, Buckingham began running seriously at the age of 10. Six years of study at Melbourne University – where he completed a history and international relations arts degree as well as post-graduate law – stalled his running, but since then he has two world championships (2019, 2022) and two Olympic Games (2020, 2024) under his belt.

Outside of athletics, Buckingham works at ANZ Bank within their retail risk division. He married partner Amanda on the family farm in October 2023.