Originally a member of Southport Waterloo AC, he changed clubs to rivals Liverpool Pembroke Sefton, who he still now races with.

Rimmer's build-up to the Games was disrupted by food poisoning, which he picked up at the holding camp in Macau.

The Southport runner comfortably came through his first-ever Olympic race in 1:47.61, despite having lost almost 7 pounds (3.2 kg) because of his illness.

Rimmer looked promising throughout the heats of the 800 m, and after squeezing through his previous round he was well down the field in the semi-final in a time of 1:46.77.

In July 2010, he became the first male 800 m runner in history to win five consecutive national senior titles in Birmingham.