Photo no. 160: What is special about this coach? What is the connection between the owner, Peeping Ton and Godiva Harriers?
Dear Blog,
I see that one of the athletic magazines is running (!) one of these stupid competitions which attempts to involve readers and hopefully sell a few more copies. Complete waste of space but with a quiet period in reporting, something must pad out the excellent value provided by the six extra pages … that is magazine speak for ‘the price will be going up in a couple of weeks’. This particular space filler invites readers to nominate the ‘greatest athlete ever’. Now I would nominate myself but to win I would have to spend very many quids in postage stamps which would probably be enough to save the postal service from the forthcoming privatisation proposed by that nice Mr Cameroon to get some quids from the plebeians to save our country from going totally broke. Anyway, back to this ‘greatest athlete’ business. All the statistics and achievements of this, that and the other athlete will be trotted out ad nausea no doubt. And in the end, it will be just one great big yawn to fill magazine space in a quiet period of reporting, something to pad out the excellent value provided by the four extra pages … that is magazine speak for ‘the price will be going up in three weeks’.
Yesterday morning I heard a voice greeting me as I struggled in the burning sun to control the chest high weeds in the vegetable garden. I had been thinking about the ‘greatest athlete ever’ as I machete my way from the orchard towards the Mansion with a capital ‘M’ for my coffee break when the greeting broke my train of thought. Subliminal or what???? The voice of greeting came from a friend from the running club whom I had not seen for generations. He happened to be cycling past and thought he would pop in. Nice to see him. Auto suggestion or what???? My wife allowed me to stop my contest with the weeds for a chat and a drink. Coincidence or what????? He was several years younger than me but we had much in common to mull over in the hot sun, sat out on my extensive Romanesque patio, stretching as it does all the way to the end. Unconscious linkage of ideas or what????
The ‘greatest athlete ever’ and a voice from the past greeting me in the boiling sun; perhaps the sun was cooking my brain or what?????
When I went to the Olympic Games, I shared a room with Dave Bedford. Bedford was only a young lad of about 22 but a precocious athlete who the following year was to break the 10,000m world record in unfavourable weather. The press were hounding him mercilessly. The team management were hanging him out to dry offering no protection from the constant torment of the media. I could not see how he could survive such harassment and perform on the Munich track. And amid all this tumult and turmoil with which he had to cope, he received a letter. A letter from the mother of a young lad who she said tried very hard with his athletic training but gained little or no reward and suffered frustration after frustration from having little success whilst his team mates were achieving. She was worried about him. She asked Dave if he would be kind enough to scribble a few words of encouragement to the young lad. Dave noted that the letter came from Coventry and mentioned it to me. Surrounded by controversy and getting no peace and quiet from the press, radio and television, it would have been so easy for someone in Bedford’s position to just bin such a letter. Flotsam. Jetsam. Under pressure and expectation of a nation waiting the delivery of a possible gold medal and what did he do? Screw the letter up? He sat down then and there and wrote a letter back addressing it to the young lad concerned.
Now if the magazine wants a truly great athlete ……….
After our drink and chat my young friend got on his bike to complete his ride with the promise that he would pop in to see me again soon.
Colin
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