Olympic flame burns bright for Richard but cash is a barrier in his race for glory

FOR thousands of athletes in the UK the London 2012 Olympics are the focus of dreams beyond any harboured by counterparts abroad, however talented. Winning a place on the podium in front of your home crowd is once-in-a-lifetime stuff. Richard Strachan hopes to be there, for himself but also for his mother Kathleen – his staunchest and proudest supporter.

The 23-year-old 400-metre runner from Middleton in South Leeds may never get a better chance to show what he's made of, but to realise his potential at the Big One so much hinges not only on being consistently fast enough to be selected but whether he can get himself from here to summer 2012 in the best possible shape and arrive at the stadium at the peak of his performance. And whether that happens is largely down to money.

"So much has to be right," says Richard, who lives with his disabled mother on a council estate and trains at South Leeds Stadium. Until recently, he was travelling about 700 miles a week, spending three days each training in Sheffield and Manchester. He needs to make a big move very soon if his hopes are to stay alive, though.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Rent, bills, transport, the right fresh high-protein food is expensive, and so are the supplements to help your body's recovery, as well as shoes and other equipment. To train properly for the world's biggest events you have to be able to cover all of these costs and also be able to afford not to work."

Lately it's become increasingly clear that if he is to stand the best possible chance of being in the squad for individual and 4 x 400 metre events in 2012 he needs to train with an elite group of runners including another 400m contender Conrad Williams, based at Brunel University in west London.

He has been invited to join the group by coach and former Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie, and has also been offered mentoring from Iwan Thomas, the fastest ever Briton at 400m.

"Richard's mentality is really good," says Thomas. "Training is really tough at 400m, and it's even more difficult if you need to work to fund training. To achieve the times you're after you have to be free to train full-time, so work is impossible. This is the position he's in.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I was lucky in that, after I left university and went to live in Southampton to be near my coach, my parents were able to pay my rent. I think Richard has a really good chance of reaching the Olympic squad if he can just find a way to keep training at the right level and stay injury-free."

For runners who solidly clock-up good enough times to be selected and win medals at the big events, UK Athletics gives 27,000 funding a year to assist with full-time training. Finding additional funding via sponsorship from sports clothing firms or other companies is relatively easy for this group of athletes. They also attract fees from race organisers for finishing races in top places. Richard receives 10,000, which doesn't make for easy living, but it means he doesn't need to work full-time.

But to live in west London, however modestly and without a social life to speak of – the kind of monastic existence Richard and other high-level athletes accept is necessary to focus mentally and physically on their sport – he would need at least 20,000.

Although he improved his personal best several times in 2009, Richard's running this year has been stalled by a severe hamstring tear back in March. Now recovered and back to training every day, he relies on the 10,000, plus the odd casual shift at South Leeds Stadium to make ends meet. His mother works part-time in an office, and between them the domestic bills just about get paid. Eating the fresh fish and meat he needs may be a luxury to some, but it's essential for a top sprinter.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Travelling to London and living there, which Richard needs to do in the next month to start winter training in earnest, will be impossible unless he finds at least another 10,000 to bridge the gap.

In the prevailing economic climate, finding sponsors to help him keep his ambition alive is proving depressing. However, he really isn't the whingeing type. "I've written 400 letters, but it just takes one to

give me a chance, and I hope and believe they're out there."

He and his sister were brought up by Kathleen, and their father was off the scene quite early, spending spells in and out of prison.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I remember days when my mum wouldn't eat because we had so little money. My dad would come and go. He made times harder, was no kind of role model and is no longer part of my life."

Richard didn't do well at school, but at the age of 12 took up athletics, very quickly winning Yorkshire cross-country championships and breaking records. At 16, he came second in the UK under-17 championships at 400m and at 17, in 2004, he was picked for the junior squad for his first GB international. The following year he made the under-20 European Championships and won gold in the 4 x400 relay. In

2006, he lowered his personal best from 47.69 seconds to 46.33, competed for England several times and made the GB senior team.

In 2007, Richard started to receive low-level funding from UK Athletics and worked as a coach in schools. His personal best went down to 46.28. In the European Championships he ran a 45.7 second relay leg and was ranked fifth in Europe, before torn ligaments in his ankle took him out for the rest of the season.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Throughout 2009 he ran personal bests, taking him close the standard he would need to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. His personal best is 45.74, but to be in definite contention for a place in the Olympic squad he must lower that to 45.55.

Richard's ambitions to reach the final and a medal in both the European and Commonwealth Games this year foundered when his hamstring tore. Now recovered and in very good shape, he says he's hungry for the success he knows he can achieve.

"I need to surround myself with athletes who have been there and done it at the highest level, learning from their experience. I need to improve my strength, speed and endurance, which is what Linford's group is all about. I need to make at least the semi-final of the World Championships next year in South Korea, then put in another good winter's training after that."

To help to make all this happen, Richard is hoping his 10,000 funding from UK Athletics will be renewed next month, although it won't be

enough to get him to London.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I've always avoided leaving Leeds and my mum, as I spend a certain amount of time caring for her. She wants me to go, though, and once I am successful I'll give her a better life," says Richard.

The Hunslet Trust, which exists to ensure that sport thrives in south Leeds, pays Richard's travel expenses for training. Chairman of the

trust Andrew Beadnall says: "If Richard were from a different

background, from a family that could afford to support him financially until he made it and got the sponsors, he'd be a certainty for the Olympics.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I've never seen anyone with so much passion. You see it in his eyes the moment you meet him. It's a rarity, and if anyone needs a helping hand, it's him. To get someone from Leeds on the podium at the London Olympics would be bloody marvellous."

Related topics: