Ron Roddan dead: Linford Christie left heartbroken after beloved Team GB Olympic legendary coach passes away
LINFORD CHRISTIE has been left “broken” after the death of his legendary former coach Ron Roddan.
The Team GB Olympic icon shared a photo of them together on Instagram to announce the sad news on Friday morning.
Linford Christie has announced his former coach Ron Roddan has diedRex
Instagram @linford_christieThe late star started training the Olympic legend back in 1979[/caption]
And he captioned it with: “Broken R I E P RON ‘Rocket’ RODDAN.”
“Rocket” Roddan began coaching the former Olympic sprinter Christie in 1979.
He was a former sprinter himself during the 1950s and 60s and also worked as a civil service laboratory assistant.
Roddan’s epic coaching career at Thames Valley Harriers saw him prepare over 30 athletes that were selected for Great Britain.
He most famously coached Christie to Olympic 100 metres gold in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics.
Roddan coached many household names in the vibrant athletics scene, when it was one of the most-watched sports on TV.
He became part of the furniture in the London athletics scene and slowly coaxed the best of out Christie’s abilities.
It was Christie who claimed silver in the 100m behind Carl Lewis at the most infamous race of all time – the 1988 Olympic final in Seoul.
Christie thought he had claimed bronze, only for Canadian winner Ben Johnson to be disqualified after the final.
Four years later Christie went to Barcelona as a contender and was second fastest going into the final.
But he won the Olympic gold in 9.96 seconds – a race Roddan infamously missed because he had hurt his ankle.
He watched the race on a TV in the warm-up area instead.
He received London’s Regional Council Performance Coach of the Year Award in 2011.
And that honour came two years after he received the national Performance Coach award at the England Athletics Hall of Fame and National Volunteer Awards.
Two-time Team GB Olympian Margaret Adeoye joined in the tributes after the sad news was announced.
Sharing a photo of herself and Roddan, she wrote: “My heart is broken. RIP.”
While another fan commented on Christie’s post: “So sorry for your loss, Linford. I know how much Ron meant to you.
Twitter @margaretadeoyeMargaret Adeoye joined the tributes to her late coach[/caption]
Full story to follow…
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