Britain’s two reigning world champions have praised the appointment of Christian Malcolm as UK Athletics head coach, with Dina Asher-Smith describing it as a new era and Katarina Johnson-Thompson predicting success for the 41-year-old.
Malcolm, who will become the first black coach to take the role when he joins the troubled organisation from Athletics Australia in December, is universally liked. Some are concerned, though, that the Welshman’s lack of coaching experience and badges may mean such a high-profile appointment has come too soon.
Johnson-Thompson disagreed, saying: “He’s going to do a good job. He’s not too disconnected from being an athlete so he’s going to have the athletes in mind when he makes decisions and that’s definitely what’s needed. He’s such a nice fella.”
Malcolm, who was a former world, European and Commonwealth Games medallist and competed at two Olympics before retiring in 2014, was understandably delighted. “Words can’t describe how excited I am to have the opportunity to take this role on and be part of a new start for British Athletics,” he said.
“As an athlete I knew I wanted to give back to the sport when I finished competing. In all my coaching and advisory roles so far, I have wanted to help athletes avoid the errors I made and support them and their coaches to get the best out of themselves.”
There was surprise in some quarters, however, that Malcolm was picked ahead of two senior candidates, Stephen Maguire and Peter Eriksson. His coaching career has comprised technical lead for sprint relays working under Maguire, a position he held from March 2015 to December 2018, before moving to Athletics Australia as head of performance and coaching in January 2019.
His appointment signals a fresh approach from the new British Athletics chief executive officer, Jo Coates, who last month brought in Sara Symington, a former professional cyclist from England Netball, to be the performance director. “Christian’s credentials are numerous,” said Coates, “but most impressive was the energy and vision he had during the recruitment process.”
