SEB COE saluted his ex-coach George Gandy, who has died aged 80 after a heart attack following minor surgery.
Newcastle-born Gandy was a prolific endurance running coach best known for his work with athletes at Loughborough University since 1971.
Seb Coe has hailed athletics legend George Gandy (right) after he passed away aged 80Credit: Rex Features
He acted as national endurance coach from 1992-98 and 2009-13 and his experience spanned 10 Olympics and five Commonwealth Games.
Coe, an economics and social history student, worked with him in the mid-1970s and developed world-class speed and strength thanks to Gandy’s circuit training sessions.
Coe, 64, a two-time Olympic 1500m champion, said: “George was an exceptional person and a world-class coach – for both I owe him an inestimable gratitude.
“He has enhanced, and in many cases changed, the lives of so many young people, including mine. We have all suffered a grievous loss.”
Gandy was also linked to athletes Jon Brown, Jack Buckner, Lisa Dobriskey, Dave Moorcroft, Steve Backley and Paula Radcliffe.
On working with Coe at Loughborough University, Gandy previously told Athletics Weekly: “Seb arrived on campus in 1975 to study economics and politics.
“He had class stamped all over him with PBs of 1:53 and 3:45 and by 1977 I knew we had a potential world beater on our hands.”
On the start of his own athletics career at St Mary’s College in south London, Gandy added: “While there (St Mary’s) I became cross-country and athletics captain and I think that was the first time I got into telling other people what to do and how to do it.
“I gained a variety of coaching awards and in my final year at St Mary’s I was a member of the British Milers’ Club as a runner. They knew I was going back to the North East to teach.
“Somebody got in touch with me and asked if I would make contact with two young lads in South Shields with a view to continue to coach them when I went back there, so I did that.
“That was probably the beginning of it for me.”
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Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
