POWELL CALLS FOR COACHING REFORM

Trackspeed1 UK coach John Powell has broken his silence on this website to speak out on what has been an ironically devastating end to one of his most successful summer seasons ever.  And he believes coaching reform is the only solution!

Since the Olympic Games, which capped a season that saw just about everyone in Trackspeed1 UK set huge personal bests, Olympian James Ellington has elected to go to pastures new, World Junior finalist David Bolarinwa has moved on to another coach, and former international Andrew Matthews has failed to return to training without any contact whatsoever.  Add to that the retirement from top level athletics of Jason Hussain and Ed Harrison, and the top end of the squad of 2011-12 has been demolished.

"I don't have all the answers," said John, "but this cannot continue.  I've been in this game over 36 years, and I'm sick to death of being used and dumped by athletes chasing a non-existent holy grail.  

"Coaches need a union or representative body - with legal clout - to look after their interests when it comes to working with athletes of a certain level.  The sport needs to professionalise itself in this respect, or it will begin to haemorrhage expertise, which it can certainly ill afford to do.

I really do wish James all the very best

"First of all, let's be very clear here about James Ellington.  He's decided to go to an American coach UK Athletics have hired at Loughborough.  I'm told he has a cracking track record with sprinters at world class level, and I understand James's desire to train with the best.  But it is still devastating for a coach to lose a top international like James, especially after a 14-year association.  And to have him leave after getting him to his first Olympics is especially galling.  

John Powell with James Ellington, at the World Championships,
in South Korea in 2011

"That said,I wish him the very best for the future, and really do sincerely hope and pray the move works out for him.  He has made it to where he is by and large the hard way, and he deserves a break.

"Poaching is rife in athletics"

"David is another situation all together.  Poaching is rife in athletics now, even with coaches employed by the governing body.   More athletes changed coaches this autumn than probably ever before - it has really been musical chairs.  

"I have no direct evidence of poaching, but a sack load of hearsay and plenty of circumstantial material doesn't leave too much to the imagination.  I have listened to what some athletes tell me has gone on with, especially young impressionable individuals having their existing training regimes questioned  by so-called senior coaches.  It is completely unethical and rips athletes away from programmes that are working perfectly well for them.

"The thing is, if the boot were on the other foot, I would be so embarrassed.  Think of the pressure you are under to ensure your new charges actually deliver and improve.  And of course in a lot of cases they don't.  But hey, you've got a star-studded line-up in your squad, so you are a super-coach aren't you!

Short-listed for Olympic Head Coach

"The point is, what incentive is there left now for an ambitious coach like me to carry on?  I was hugely flattered to be short-listed and interviewed for the Olympic Head Coach position recently.  I knew I was faced with a massive challenge, but I felt my application matched the ambition I had held for many years up to that point.

"I would be the first to support a strategy of links with coaches from abroad to learn and develop both our athletes and coaches, and I have to say the England Athletics National Coach Development Programme is an excellent stepping stone toward that end.  

"But to import them and then expect athletes to permanently leave their current coaches, who in any cases could be delivering pretty good results already, is a fundamentally flawed policy.  These guys need to work with our guys - athletes and coaches - and help us to learn and improve on the job.

"I'm afraid the assumption that coaches employed by the governing body are the best around and should therefore inherit by right all the top athletes is about as stupid and naive as it gets!  

Nobody improves when they leave

Suffice to say no sprinter that has left my squad has ever improved more than a couple of hundredths, if that.  I suspect David may be an exception as he is still a developing young talent, but of course that will be to the credit of his new regime won't it!

John Powell with David Bolarinwa - three European Junior
medals, one gold, plus reaching a World Junior final inside 12
months was not good enough for the athlete who also became
one of the fastest ever British juniors over 200m this year!

"I am still left with some exceptional talent in my squad of 2012-13.  Edmond Amaning, Julian Thomas, Lloyd Gumbs and Matt Sinclair top the bill, and the newly-established Trackspeed1 UK Academy has already unearthed at least one young athlete who I think could possibly go all the way over the next few years.  But in the latter case, I wonder what the ultimate outcome might be if he does break through to the top of his sport?!

No regulation or control

The thing is, there is no regulation, no control, and so athletes are in many cases allowed to treat coaching resources with sometimes complete contempt.  I have gone full circle this summer.  One minute I thought we were going to inherit some really positive additions to the squad; a few weeks later the top end of my squad had left instead!

I know I'm not the only one, but it's getting worse, this year exceptionally so.  I give everything to athletes under my tutelage and always will for as long as I'm in the sport.  I have spent tens of thousands of pounds over the years and dedicated  a massive part of my life to the good of my squads.  Perhaps I need - at last - to just understand that they will take, take, take, until it suits them, and then throw it back in your face.

Passionate and ambitious

"Many may see these words as those of a bitter or poor loser still hurting after yet further departures that follow a trend now spanning over three decades.  Some more informed readers may, however, recognise them as an expression of despair from an individual phenomenally passionate about his sport, hugely ambitious to achieve for his athletes within it, and who has a pretty reasonable 'track' record of success over a sustained period of coaching at international level.

"One thing is clear though.  If the current trend continues, at some stage, in the months or years to come, the chasm between elite and development coaching will have become so large, irreparable damage will have been done to our sport."

HUSSAIN'S PARALYMPIC EXPERIENCE

Trackspeed1 sprinter Jason Hussain drew the line under a long and distinguished athletics career in the most dramatic fashion possible on Monday (3rd September) in the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

As one of the nominees from the squad to remain on standby for helping as a guide to foreign athletes competing in the Paralympic Games athletics events, he was called up to assist Nepal's Bikram Rana in the T11 200 metres event.

Competing in front of a packed stadium, Jason was staggered by the support given to the athletes, and the atmosphere generally in the stadium - even though he had been a spectator at one of the Olympic Games sessions a couple of weeks earlier.

Jason Hussain (left) with Paralympic sprinter Bikram Rana (centre)

 "It was amazing, and to actually take part in something connected with the London Games was a real privilege," he said.

His efforts didn't go unrewarded either. Although Bikram finished fourth of four competitors in his heat, the unsighted sprinter set a personal best and Nepal national record in clocking 26.95.

Jason's track career now draws to a close, having seen him rub shoulders with some of the best of British over the past decade. He represented Great Britain as a junior, and has been a steady performer at national level throughout his senior career.

One of his most notable achievements was not so much a performance, but his successful battle in 2008 with Cancer, which saw him back into training just 20 days after his final dose of chemotherapy, which in itself was a huge inspiration to those around him.

"Jason was - and is - a tough cookie," said coach John Powell, "and he has pulled through some really sticky patches that others would have struggled to emerge from.

"His character and experience will be missed from the squad, but life dictates that, unless you are at the very top in track and field, you have to earn a living somehow, and that is now his priority.  

 

"Everyone at Trackspeed1 UK wishes him well for the future. He has a wealth of experience, especially during the time he worked for me as the Met-Track Scheme Manager, and he will be a huge asset to any future employer."

 

Jason will have one final race today (Saturday 8th) in the Super8 final before he finally hangs up his spikes.

TRACKSPEED1 ACADEMY TO LAUNCH

Trackspeed1 coach John Powell has announced the formation of a brand new sprints academy to be formed under the Trackspeed1 banner. 

It will be a unique opportunity for sprinters, young or old, irrespective of ability, to receive high level coaching with potential to graduate to elite level.

The unprecedented successes of the long-established sprinting stable at Crystal Palace during 2012 has prompted John to expand his coaching work to incorporate anyone who wants to try to develop in the speed events. Instruction in long jump, triple jump and hurdles could also be availed on request.

John, now retired from his long term career in the Metropolitan Police, will be working with his top athletes during the day, but will open up opportunities for other athletes to train as part of the Trackspeed1 set-up during specified evenings.

"We have a pretty good tradition of discovering and developing young talent here," said John, " but I can't keep feeding youngsters into the main group where I have international athletes quite rightly needing more significant and priority attention.

"This way, any athlete who wants to get into some decent sprint training in south London can receive it, with the added incentive that, if they progress well, they could end up training alongside some of our top stars.

"It won't be free, but the deal will encourage anyone getting involved to commit for a minimum period, and they will all be entitled to wear the Trackspeed1 brand."

John emphasised that he would welcome any athlete from any club, and that unattached athletes would be given a free reign to join whichever club they felt suited them most. 

The whole initiative will get started in October when the main group report back for winter training, but anyone interested in getting involved should contact John as soon as possible via trackspeed1@hotmail.com as there will be a limit if initial popularity is high.

HEADS HELD HIGH

There is absolutely no reason on earth why James Ellington should not be standing tall this morning, despite the devastatingly disappointing outcome of Tuesday's Olympic Games 200 metres heat.

The notion that he has let people down, which I know he has felt over the past 48 hours, is as bizarre as it is an understandable reaction.  The truth, however, is that he has made a great many people associated with him burst with pride at his Herculean achievements this year - me more than any!

Reason's for a performance that comes nowhere near exemplifying his immense talent and skill may or may not come out in the wash in weeks to come.  What must triumph over this latest hammer blow of adversity is an athlete ready to fight again - fitter, faster, and ready to take on the world.

Sport can be the cruelest medium, and it is harder the higher you aim.  The highs become life events, the lows almost unbearable pain.  But under all of this comes that character building that makes real men like James Ellington.

James has not had it easy over the years, but some would say that overcoming challenges builds character, resolve, determination.  I agree, but it isn't every athlete who has overcome potentialy career-terminating injuries, virtually no financial support (until the last few months), and the worries of having to try to support a young family, at the same time as vying with the best srinters in the world.

My pain on Tuesday was not so much watching James' big day crumble in the space of 21 seconds - it was made far worse with him afterwards, seeing the impact of a dream shattered in the cruelest way possible.

This year - despite everything - James has again confirmed himself as one of the fastest sprinters in the UK, taken his first ever British 200m title, and qualified for a home Olympic Games in London.  It will be a story he will doubtless relate to his grand children.

James qualifies for the London 2012 Olympic Games

I know, because on a vrtual daily basis, I have seen, the blood, sweat and toil James has put in to his athletics that has got him to where he is today.  Sadly, the doubters and the pathetic commentaries on social networking sites are all part of what goes with the territory. 

I am so pleased these individuals have siezed the opportunity to exhibit just how bereft they are of any grain of intelligence, and for providing James with another opportunity to stand tall and raise his head above such pathetic tittle tattle.

James, I speak on behalf of everyone I know that is or has been associated with you.  You have made them - me - so, so proud.  I say this not to make you feel better, but because it happens to be true.  You are a world class sportsman with a character stronger than anyone I know.

You have also provided me with experience as a coach that may never have come, and you have provided me with an association with an individual I hope will be continue for many many years to come.

You continue to provide me with an opportunity - an opportunity to help show the world just how big a man James Ellington is, and see him back onto the world stage over the next few years as a force to be reckoned with - which you are and, God willing, will continue to be!

JOHN POWELL

Coach to James Ellington

1999-2006 / 2008-2012

IT'S SHOW TIME! Coach John Powell writes...

This Tuesday morning at 1150am BST, the heats of the London 2012 Olympic Games 200 metres begin.  My athlete, James Ellington will be competing.  It will be the single most thrilling day of my coaching career to date.

There have been many athletes who I have had the privilege of working with in the past 36 years.  Many young, some older, many talented, most of them keen at least.  You ride the highs and the lows with every last one of them.

The Olympic motto stands firm in my mind - if you didn't hold to that you would go slowly mad as a coach;  but you have to have the belief and positivity of your elite athletes when it comes to the big day - after all, who else can they look to?

I don't 'believe' James can do well on Tuesday.  I 'know' he can!  As so many athletes' careers have transcended into the dizzy heights of international track and field, to reach an Olympic Games - make no mistake - is so, so, special.  And in your own back yard?  Mind boggling!

James Ellington's coach, John Powell, writes prior to his athlete's
Olympic Games devut on Tuesday August 7th, 2012.

As James lined up in the UK Championships and Trials in Birmingham, in June, he faced one of the toughest contests in British 200m sprinting in 2 decades.  The pressure was immense.  The prize so spectacular, so life-changing, you dared not think of the possibility of failure.

The outcome is of course now history, and we have moved on to the biggest show on earth in our home city.  But pause for a moment to consider the Herculean achievement that placed James Ellington on the start line in Stratford in the first instance.

Pause also to remember that, 2 years ago, he suffered a potential career-terminating injury when he tore a hamstring in Geneva in 2010.  I have ridden these lows with James - and enjoyed the odd high too.  Believe me, when I talk about character, strength, motivation, inspiration, let alone sheer bog standard talent - this is what you get from a man now UK Champion already blooded at World Championship level!

I have had the privilege of getting to know James, and his family, over 13 years now, and they are among my dearest friends.  We have ridden the rollercoaster that track and field predictably delivers, shared smiles, laughs and tears, for this is how deep our passion runs. 

With no disrespect to any oher athletes I coach or have coached in the past - Olympics... home games...an athlete I've known since age 13 and who I have coached for almost all that time... on the start line...! 

Phenomenal!

I am completely, totally and utterly biased but, in my humble opinion, you so deserve this James - go show the world what you can do.  I am so, so proud to be - and to have been - part of Team Ellington.  And I always will be.

John Powell has coached James Ellington since the age of 13, except for two seasons of 2006/7 and 2007/8.

IT"S 'GAMES ON' AS JAMES HEADS FOR HOME!

James Ellington bids farewell to coach John Powell as he leaves the
Portugal holding camp to travel to the London 2012
Olympic Games Athletes' Village in Stratford

Trackspeed1 sprinter James Ellington is heading for home after his 10-day stint at TeamGB's holding camp in Portugal, with the 200 metres heats on Tuesday firmly in his sights.


Coach John Powell will follow his protegee tomorrow (Saturday), and probably hook up with his newly-crowned UK Champion on Sunday at some stage in the Olympic Park.

Preparations for the race of James' life on Tuesday (the heats begin at 11.50am BST) have gone well, and according to his coach he returns home full of confidence.

"It's at this stage of proceedings that all the athlete wants to do is get onto the track and run," said John, "but James still has 3 days or so to wait.  He won't be short of things to keep his mind occupied though.  The Olympic Village will be a huge experience for him, and as long as he doesn't get too carried away, he'll line up on Tuesday ready to roll."

His coach will be returning home to re-introduce himself to his family after being away almost 3 of the last 4 weeks with the World Junior Championships in Barcelona having ended only a week before travelling out to Portugal.

"It's been a great experience so far all round.  To be part of the Team GB set-up is an immense privilege.  We have a really strong team this time round, and optimism is rife.  I won't have the Village experience, but being at warm-up, let alone in the stadium to watch, will be the experience of a lifetime.  I was in Athens for the 200's there, but a home Games is a completely different kettle of fish!"

John also praised the support framework that has wrapped itself around the athletes to date: "The physio's, medical team, and all the support staff have been superb, and I must again thank Head Coach Charles Van Commenee for including me in the team."

Assuming James has a safe passage through his heat on Tuesday morning, he will run in the semi-finals at 2010hrs BST on Wednesday evening.

"If James ends up an Olympic semi-finalist I will be delighted, but if he's lining up on Wednesday night, who knows what could happen," he concluded!

Further images from Portugal below...

James at relay training in Ayemonte, Spain this week

Ollie Findlay assists in the recovery process after training

Coach and athlete all smiles after another session in the Portugal sun

James leaves Monte Gordo for the final time after training this morning

GAMES PREP' NICELY ON COURSE

James Ellington passes the baton to Adam Gemilli n a relay rehearsal
at the Monte Gordo track, Southern Portugal, yesterday

Some of the TeamGB track and field team may have wished they were in Stratford last night, but their training camp in Southern Portugal is just what the doctor ordered for the vast majority, including Trackspeed1 sprinter James Ellington and his coach John Powell.


"We are in excellent accommodation here, with excellent weather, and all the atlete and team support you could possibly wish for," said John, who is still reeling from the shock of having been included in the TeamGB coaching personnel.

"Some athletes wished they were involved in the ceremony, but I think everyone understands why they are not.  The Portugal camp offers a terrific opportunity to manage yourself into a virtually perfect lifestyle in the run-up to the track and field events in London."

Coach John Powell and James Ellington in Portugal as TeamGB
gathered for an official photograph and then watch the Olympic Games
opening ceremony on a big screen.

Preparations are going well too, with James a fully integrated member of the relay squad, from which the final four will be selected on August 9th, and his individual prep' for the 200 metres is also going well.

"I cannot thank UKA Head Coach Charles Van Commenee enough for including me in the coaching team," said John.  "I was flabbergasted when I got the email, but it is terrific to be here overseeing James' last preparations for the race of his life in the Olympic Stadium on August 7th.

John Powell with UKA Head Coach Charles Van Commenee at the
Track & Field team holding camp in Portugal yesterday.

Both James and John will return to London on Saturday August 4th when James will be transported straight into the athletes' village, and John will go home to re-introduce himself to his wife and 5-month-old daughter.

"It'll be great to see the family again, and it will be a super experience for James in the village.  Unless you've been involved in an Olympics before, it is impossible to understand the scale of the event, let alone the thrill of being part of it.

"I will be in Stratford at some point on Sunday 5th to validate my accreditation, and probably again on Monday 6th to ensure I know routes in and out of the warm-up area.  It's quite a journey, and it would be rather unfortunate if I didn't make it into the stadium in time for James' race, so it's dry run time on Monday!

TeamGB track & field athletes gather for the opening ceremony,
beamed onto a big screen, at the holding camp in Southern Portugal

WEEKEND OF DISAPPOINTMENT BUT TS1 MARCH ON

The weekend didn't quite go as planned, but Trackspeed1's remarkable season drives on, with TeamGB's pre-Olympics holding camp in Portugal the next stop for coach John Powell and sprinter James Ellington.

The outing at Crystal Palace on Saturday, however, didn't quite produce the desired end with James trailing in behind an exceptionally fast 200m field in the Diamond League fixture, but neither coach nor athlete were at all concerned afterwards.

"James admitted he got his race tactics wrong," said John, "we were both disappointed to have been given lane 2, and on top of that he had suffered a minor back problem mid-week which combined not to help the end result on Saturday.  In fact 20-.87 easing up well short of the line was actually not bad!"

James went on in the same afternoon to run a highly respectable leg of the 4x100m relay along with Christian Malcolm, Dwain Chambers and Mark Lewis-Francis.

Both coach and athlete will now be packing their bags to fly out to the TeamGB holding camp in Monte Gordo next week for final preparations before London 2012.

The day before Crystal Palace, James' training partner David Bolarinwa contested one of the classiest World Junior Championship 200m finals in years after beating the fastest junior in the world in winning his semi-final.  He couldn't hold his early round form tough, and slipped to sixth - albeit equalling his lifetime best time of 20.69s.

"David's position was a disappointment," said John who was with him in Barcelona for the event, "but he equalled his fastest ever time in a major championship under immense pressure, and that makes me very proud of him indeed."

It was a disastrous end to the week-long championships held in Barcelona's 1992 Olympic stadium, as both men's and women's relay teams were disqualified having both been real medal hopes.  david was left stranded on leg three as he watched his second leg teammate go off too late and had the first leg athlete go crashing into him.

"That men's team would have shattered the British junior record," said John, "and they must be given another chance to have a crack at it before they move up an age-group next year."

The existing record of 39.05s was set in Santiago, Chile, when another Trackspeed1 sprinter, Dwayne Grant, was involved in a team including Tyrone Edgar, Tim Benjamin and Mark Lewis-Francis.

GO JAMES, BUT SO PROUD OF DAVID!

British 200m champion James Ellington will contest the Diamond League 200m at Crystal Palace this afternoon with coach John Powell in Barcelona expressing his pride in David Bolarinwa's efforts in the World Junior Championships.

The Barcelona Olympic Stadium hosts the World Junior Championships 

"Make no mistake," said John, "that was a classy 200m final even for a World Championships, and I am immensely proud of David's efforts here.  He beat the fastest junior in the world to get to the final, and he equalled his lifetime best time in that final.  You can ask no more."

What has developed into a thoroughly remarkable year for Powell, moves on at a pace this weekend, with new-born Olympian James Ellington appearing in front of a home London crowd this afternoon, but he is a little less than happy.

"As British champion and a member of TeamGB going to the Olympics," he said, "I was a little disappointed that I got dumped in lane 2.  I'll have to get on with it, but I was expecting a little better, I must admit."

Meanwhile, back in Spanish lands, training partner David Bolarinwa will be added to the British junior 4 x 100m relay team this evening in the World Junior final, which could yet yield a medal.

A quartet without him (he was on 200m duty last night) qualified for the final with the second fastest time ever by a British Junior squad.  They clocked 39.09s, with the foursome of Tyrone Edgar, Tim Benjamin, Dwayne Grant and Mark Lewis-Francis, having timed 39.05s back in 2000 in the same championships in Santiago, Chile.

"They can go inside 39 seconds today," said John Powell, "and they will probably have to in order to stay in front of the Japanese and the United States.  They are the main threats, but a medal of some description should be on the cards as long as hey get the baton round!"

The Barcelona Olympic Stadium

DAVID BEATS THE BEST IN THE WORLD!

It's getting serious now!  It's been an amazing year for Trackspeed1, but after David Bolarinwa beat world leader Tyreek Hill (USA), the prospect of a serious (serious!) achievement at global level now stares everyone in the face!


David's semi-final win was a class act to say the leas.  He remained unfazed by a spectacular bend by the fatstest junior in the world, and slowly hauled him in as they entered the straight.  He won the semi in conditions that presented headwinds ranging from little to -4.5 or more, so times were largely immaterial.

"David can do this," said an elated coach John Powell afterwards.  "He can stick all these supposed times down their throats and perform when it matters.

"He is a championship performer and boy oh boy will that stand in his favour when he lines up in the world final tomorrow night.  I am so proud of him.  He has acquitted himself so well in these championships.  Now only one race stands between him and  a serious statement of intent!"

The draw for the final - tomorrow night at 8.30pm BST - sees David in lane 5 with all 3 major threats outside him..

ROUND 1 - JOB DONE!

Heat 3

Thursday 12 July 2012 - 19:14

Lane	Bib	Athlete	Country	SB 2012	PB
2	213	Michal Desensky	CZE	21.23	21.23
3	660	Okeudo Jonathan Nmaju	NGR	21.31	21.31
4	181	Zhenye Xie	CHN	20.54	20.54
5	534	Akiyuki Hashimoto	JPN	20.89	20.82
6	336	David Bolarinwa	GBR	20.69	20.69
7	918	Tyreek Hill	USA	20.14	20.14
8	733	Khalfani Muhammad	PUR	21.10	21.10
9	400	Solomon Afful	GHA	21.20	21.20

This is the challenge that stands between Trackspeed1 sprinter David Bolarinwa, and tomorrow night's World Junior Championship 200 metres final!

David Bolarinwa's heat can be viewed with commentary here:

youtu.be/r9gRyFcREjQ  


The European Junior Champion will be faced with the fastest junior in the world, Tyreek Hill, but will be unfazed after a hugely confident run in this morning's heat.

David stormed to a heat winning 20.78s in the Barcelona Olympic stadium - one of the fastest 200s of his life, and yet he was watching the other athletes even as he came off the bend.  Keeping the afterburners ticking over to the line as the Bahrainian athlete mounted a late assault from lane 9, David kept his head and clapped his hands as he knew he had done the job.

The 200m is a hugely competitive event this year, and the semi-final will not be a breeze, but David looks to have drawn a good race with the main threat emanating from Hill and the Chinese athlete, Zhenye Xie, who looked very comfortable in the heats.

BARCELONA ACTION TOMORROW

Trackspeed1 duo David Bolarinwa and Edmond Amaning are ready for action in Barcelona, where the IAAF World Junior Championships are being staged this week.


David goes in the 200 metres for Great Britain tomorrow morning at 8.55am BST, and will feature among several favourites to win a medal.  Edmond must wait until Friday to see if he is selected for the 4x100m relay team.

The British team got off to a great start yesterday as Adam Gemilli flew up the straight in his 100m heat, underlining his status as clear favourite for gold tonight.  David will be hoping to tread in his footsteps.

The 200m semi-finals are tomorrow evening at 6pm BST, and the final is due off at 8.30pm BST on Friday.  The relay heats, which David will not take part in if he is in the 200m final, are at 6.05pm BST Friday, and the final is on Saturday at 8.50pm BST.

"The way this year is going for me personally, let alone Trackspeed1, who knows what these lads might achieve," said coach John Powell.  "The thought of three gold medals between them might be a little ambitious, but the Gods have certainly been smiling on us so far, so let's just see."

POWELL SHOCK AT OLYMPICS PRIZE

Trackspeed1 coach John Powell was in shock this weekend after he learned yesterday that he has been awarded a Personal Coach accreditation package for the London Olympic Games.

He opened the email at 6.30am yesterday morning and said that he almost gave his wife a heart attack when he read it and spontaneously released a few words that he politely described as rather "spur of the moment!"

The "Personal Coach" pass means that he will be flown out to the pre-Games holding camp in Portugal and given free full-board and lodging with the Olympic team.  He will be able to therefore personally oversee athlete James Ellington's final preparations before the Olympics.

UK Athletics head coach, Charles Van Commenee said to him in an email: "I am happy that you can now optimise James' preparations for the highlight of both your careers.  Well deserved by long term determination and dedication.  Fully enjoy the Games in your home town."

John was, as he put it, "totally blown away" by the award, and had actually already booked his journey to Portugal.

"Luckily I was able to cancel it," he said, "although the airline would only give me vouchers back, but I'll use them eventually.  I simply didn't dream of being one of the accredited coaches, and I had been pretty much resigned to watching James race on the TV until recently."

UK Athletics have now said that personal coaches will be given a ticket to watch their athletes compete in the Games, and so John would have got to see James perform, but was not going to be able to access anywhere in the warm-up or training area, and would have had to personally bank roll any trip to Portugal.  Now of course all that has changed.

"I am so grateful to the powers that be, especially Charles Van Commenee who I know had alot of influence on selection, and now obviously we need to ensure that James does his very best to repay the faith that has been shown in both he and his coach."

John's pass will allow him access to pretty much all areas in Stratford, although he will be given specific tickets to watch James' races, the first of which is August 7th (200m round 1)

To celebrate the lifetime achievement of James making it to the biggest show on earth, his mother threw a party all day today at her home in south east London (see picture left), where dozens of friends and family gathered to congrat-ulate James and wish him well for the coming weeks.  Former Trackspeed1 400m athlete Conrad Willliams was also there to celebrate his selection to the Games.

I had barely landed after the elation of the trials win a couple of weeks ago," said John, "and now I get this further news about coaching accreditation - I don't think I'm going to need a runay to come into land on until well afer the Games have finished!"