Saturday, September 19 is the 98th anniversary of the birth of Emil Zátopek – and, coincidentally that of his wife, Dana Zátopková who only died a few weeks ago. Emil died in 2000. As you will doubtless know, the couple won Olympic gold medals within a half an hour of each other, Emil in […]
Here’s a piece of arcana which should be of particular interest to runners and athletics aficionados of my generation, ie anyone over 60. I was browsing my bookshelves of Saturday evening, as one tends to do with increasing frequency whenever the Plague is stalking the pubs and restaurants, which would be my natural weekend […]
Two years after Paavo Nurmi won what would turn out to be the last cross country race (so far) at the Olympic Games, in Paris 1924, the Inter-Counties cross country championship was born, in Beaconsfield, west of London. During close to a century, the ‘inter-counties’ graduated to being second only to the English ‘national’ […]
You’ll recognise the face and the frame, and some of you, particularly those from north London might recognise the teeshirt. But what you might ask, is Saïd Aouita doing in a Muswell Hill Runners vest? Apologies for the shadow on the shirt, but the man responsible for it and for persuading Aouita to pose […]
Dana Zátopková, the 1952 Olympic javelin champion died yesterday (Friday), aged 97, at home in Prague; thus ends one of the most famous families in Olympic history. Though an Olympic and twice European champion (and silver in the Rome Olympics 1960), as well as a world record holder, during most of her competitive life, […]
The stable door was wide open, and the shoe manufacturers (of whatever stripe) just drove the coach and horses, loaded with super-shoes, right out; and there’s no catching them. And closing the door now, as World Athletics is reportedly about to do is going to serve no useful purpose. Publicity and profit-driven enterprise has […]