Athletics in the UK: The Rise and Fall of the BAF

113 Andy Norman Norman was the person who provided this and he became the crucial person in both events. His role in the IAC event was eventually taken over by David Bedford but Norman continued in his role with the Southern event as it was absorbed into the sport’s mainstream package of commercial events. Norman’s influence and importance within athletics grew steadily and he became immersed in the organisation of international events in Britain. In 1987, towards the end of his illustrious running career, Sebastian Coe described Andy Norman thus. “ We owe a great deal to Andy ”, he said. “ The greatest thing he ever did was to get British athletes into the right competitive environment by bringing top class athletes into this country ”. Andy Norman was the key figure in the negotiations which led to ITV outbidding the BBC for the British athletics contract in 1984. ITV’s John Bromley had also made it clear that he (Norman) should be contracted by the sport as the organiser of the events in order to guarantee the delivery of what ITV had paid for. He therefore resigned from the Police Force and became the Promotions Officer under a contract with the AAA and BAAB. Naively, the AAA-BAAB agreed to contract Norman as a “consultant” and not as an employee. This meant that, although being contracted for only 42 weeks per annum, he was paid what was effectively a full time employee’s salary and was also free to pursue other activities; with some practical restraints admittedly. He was forbidden to work for the BBC, ITV or Channel 4 but no mention was made of Eurosport for whom he subsequently did athletics commentary and which attracted criticism, but was something the AAA-BAAB could not stop. Whereas his importance and influence within the sport were growing, his reputation and relationships were more controversial. Amongst athletes, he was held in a mixture of awe and fear. For those whom he favoured there was almost no limit to their possibilities to gain access to important and lucrative competitions but for those who would not toe the Norman line, most doors were closed. His relationships with colleagues and others who were at a senior level or who were important commercially were usually excellent and those who saw him at work in a crucial negotiation or presentation, as I did frequently, were invariably impressed by his knowledge and professionalism. But those whom he regarded as inferior he could treat