30th November 2017

Maguire, Blomkvist and Malcolm jointly named High Performance Coach of the Year at UK Coaching Awards

Stephen Maguire, Benke Blomkvist and Christian Malcolm were collectively named High Performance Coach of the Year at the UK Coaching Awards 2017 in London last night following the success of the British 4x100m relay team at this summer’s IAAF World Championships on home soil.

The British quartet of CJ Ujah (coached by Stuart McMillan), Adam Gemili (Rana Reider), Danny Talbot (Blomkvist) and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (Dennis Shaver) combined to impressively win the nation’s first ever World Championship title in the 4x100m at the London Stadium on August 12.

With the relay programme overseen by Maguire, Blomkvist and Malcolm, Ujah, Gemili, Talbot and Mitchell-Blake clocked a new British and European record of 37.47 seconds for victory, just 0.05 ahead of the USA, while Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills), Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Blomkvist) and Reece Prescod (Jonas Dodoo) were also part of the relay squad. All four British relay teams won medals in London.

Up against Ben Rhodes (Sailing), Steve Robinson (Golf) and Ziemek Wojciechowski (Fencing), Maguire, Blomkvist and Malcolm were jointly named High Performance Coach of the Year at a glittering ceremony at the Honourable Artillery Company in London.

Stephen Maguire, Head of Sprints, Hurdles and Relays, said: “We are delighted to accept this award on behalf of the whole team effort that resulted in relay success at the World Championships in London. In particular we would like to thank each of the individual athletes and their personal coaches for their support of the relay programme along with the support staff, and the wider team. The guys did fantastically well to win the world title in the 4x100m in London. We have an extremely talented group of sprinters and a great group of coaches around them and we hope to achieve more success on the track as we head towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.”

Benke Blomkvist, Senior National Institute Coach for Hurdles and Sprints, said: “As a personal coach who is involved with the relay programme the greatest thing is to see our athletes achieve success. As coaches we don’t covet recognition, our role is to ensure our athletes are best prepared to succeed on the highest stage. Danny, CJ, Adam and Nethaneel produced a standout performance this summer and one that we are all very proud of.”

Christian Malcolm, Technical Lead for Sprint Relay Teams, said: “It is a privilege to be recognised as High Performance Coach of the Year alongside Stephen and Benke, especially against such a strong shortlist. I would like to thank the athlete’s personal coaches for their contribution. The boys produced a special performance in London and it is great to be working as the technical lead for the sprint relay programme. It was a memorable summer for the sprint relay team and I look forward to working with them and their coaches as they pursue further success in the coming years.”