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

83 A chief executive at last team at the European Indoor Championships. Les was only 48 and his death was a shocking blow to athletics in Britain. Within six months of its launch, the BAF had lost its first Vice- Chairman. The BAF did not lose any time in finding a replacement and, at its meeting on 26 th April 1992, elected Peter Radford as Vice-Chairman. Radford, a professor of sports science at Glasgow University, had been an Olympic athlete, taking the bronze medal in the 100m at the Rome Olympic Games of 1960. He had also set new world records for 200m and 220 yards and, to this day, remains the last British athlete to hold a world record at these distances. He was also a member of Britain’s 4 x 110 yards relay team that equalled the world record in 1963 when beating the powerful USA team in an international match at the White City stadium. Radford had spent some years in Canada as the Canadian director of coaching and, in recent years, had co-authored a report into the UK’s coaching scheme. He was a respected authority in the field of anti-doping and, as a noted sports historian, his knowledge of the sport was considerable. He was a popular choice to fill Les Jones’ position. Within a year, Radford had stepped up to become chairman, following Bill Evans’ decision not to seek re-election at the 1993 AGM of the BAF, and Scotland’s Bob Greenoak had taken Radford’s place as Vice- Chairman. The 1993 AGM had been another bruising affair that, yet again, portrayed British Athletics as constantly warring with itself. The officers had borne the brunt of the Malcolm Jones affair and this manifested itself in the elections. Radford, Greenoak and Bedford found themselves opposed by David Cropper, Ken Oakley and Chris Carter each of whom had, significantly, been nominated by all three English Regional Associations. An effective lobbying campaign resulted in clear majorities for Radford, Greenoak and Bedford and the President Arthur McAllister, who had almost certainly been involved in this attempt to seize power, was visibly stunned when the voting results were announced.