BRITISH ATHLETICS lost a much loved member of the track and field fraternity today following the news that Lloyd Cowan MBE had died.

I knew why Lloyd had brought me into the mix, but I also knew he didn’t have to

Joel Campbell

Aged 58, Cowan was a former sprint hurdler turned coach who guided the careers of many athletes taking some of them to the highest echelons of achievement within the sport.

Cowan was more than a coach though. Cowan was one of the realist in the business.

By ‘realist’, I mean he kept it 100 with you all the time. Never changed, stayed consistent, humble and true.

I talk from my own experiences with Lloyd, 19 years of experience.

When you are a new journalist in this game, nobody trusts you.

Lloyd didn’t need anyone to validate for him where I was concerned, however, he discerned for himself the motive for my being in the press box and as a result we fostered a relationship that stood the test of time based on it’s integrity.

He extended his hand when he saw me, introduced me to the track and field movers and shakers, kept me in the know, schooled, educated and guided me on what was HIS area of expertise, track and field.

Standing in a makeshift media mixed zone at the Sportscity stadium in the early noughties, Lloyd approached me and asked if I knew about the 400m runner that was about to take the world by storm. I didn’t. He then pointed at Christine Ohuruogu in the starting blocks and said, ‘watch this’.

Ohuruogu won the race.

The performance saw her lower her lifetime best to 50.98s coming down from 52.20s in her first race of that year, it also meant she’d qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Ohuruogu’s story was a great one, indeed her whole career was a great one, but what left an indelible impression on me was the coach, he was different, definitely not the same as others I’d encountered in my short time in and around the sport.

What Cowan understood better than any other black coach I have worked with in my time was the need to share information and in particular, share it with me.

Not all of it was for publication but everything was uttered with the positive intention of helping to uplift those most underrepresented in the track and field coaching space.

His network was global and any international coaches who were cautious with journalists they didn’t know and or might have been wary of a six-foot, bespectacled and then gold-toothed Rasta man in the press box, he put at ease, thus making his network my network. That’s just what he did.

There are loads of Lloyd moments to share and some will end up in my book but one of the most insightful evenings I ever spent with him occurred again as a result of him sticking steadfastly to one his many mantras, ‘one hand wash the other’.

Coming through the hotel lobby during the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, I ran across Lloyd and about ten coaches from all over the world. I cordially said my hellos and proceeded to head to my room before Lloyd shouted out that I must come and join the conversation.

To keep it real, the conversation didn’t need me. This was a lobby area full of experts in their field. I love the sport but what could I offer this discourse? So I did what all good journalists do, I listened. I learned.

The buzz that night centered on the amazing 100m world record that Usain Bolt had set earlier that day. The conversation evolved into an estimate of how fast he could go in the 200m.

We all remember the race, we all know the time. One coach called it bang on the money and I remember the laughter that followed his prediction. It seemed so far from what was possible or even as good as Usain was, probable.

As I left the conversation, a few more contacts to the good than I was at the start of it. I knew why Lloyd had brought me into the mix, but I also knew he didn’t have to.

He brought people in, he brought me in, That’s just what he did.

Track and field is a poorer place for his loss and I alongside many others will never forget him or his dedication, commitment and contribution to the sport.

UKA STATEMENT: LLOYD COWAN MBE