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

114 Andy Norman appallingly and there were several occasions when he brought junior staff to tears. The sporting press found Norman particularly offensive and had to put up with frequent invective and abuse, without being able to retaliate as they needed him as a vital source of athletic intelligence of all kinds. They were to take their opportunity for revenge over the tragic suicide of Cliff Temple. Despite his hard man image as a bruiser, Andy Norman could also be exceptionally kind and soft hearted. He undoubtedly loved his sport and was determined to do everything he could to promote its development. His travelling was prodigious and much of this was spent visiting athletic clubs up and down the country. Frequently, he would delve into the boot of his car and bring out a Great Britain tracksuit or vest or some other item that he would give to the club he had visited for them to use in a raffle or other fund raising event. His relationship with Fatima Whitbread drew accusations of favouring her with over-generous competition appearance fees at the expense of her rival, former Olympic Champion Tessa Sanderson. His relationship with Whitbread and his subsequent divorce from his Norwegian first wife soured relationships with Steve Ovett and his wife (Norman had been the best man at their wedding) but his marriage to Whitbread also eventually foundered. Controversy was never far from Andy Norman. In July 1989 £25,000 in cash was stolen from his hotel room prior to a grand prix event at Crystal Palace. It has to be said that, in those days, it was common that athletes’ appearance monies were paid in cash and huge sums of money changed hands in hotel rooms across Europe, so the fact that Norman was handling such money (in fact, £25,000 was by no means the whole budget) was not unusual. British athletes competing in Britain were not paid in cash (their earnings were transferred directly into their trust funds) but it was the norm for foreign athletes. The police were informed but their enquiries led to nothing. A month later, another scandal broke out.