Obituary: Neil Black, athletics director

Neil Black, who has died at 60, was the former performance director at UK Athletics who helped guide the careers of Sir Mo Farah, Sally Gunnell, Linford Christie, Paula Radcliffe, Colin Jackson, Steve Backley, Denise Lewis and Sheffield’s Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Black gave almost 30 years to the sport at a top level, having worked his way up through the governing body after being appointed chief physiotherapist in November 2004.

His appointment as performance director after the 2012 London Olympics, a position he held until October last year, came as a surprise to nob-one, given his reputation as a problem solver.

Black was a man to get things done and did not mind upsetting people along the way.

His determination was perhaps fuelled by disappointment that he could not fulfil his own dreams as an athlete.

Born in the north east, he was a schoolboy in Ashington with an all-round talent for sport.

He represented Northumberland at schoolboy level in rugby, had trials for Middlesbrough at football and was a very promising middle-distance runner.

It was athletics that he chose to pursue, running for the Morpeth Harriers and becoming a fine talent at 1,500m, beating both Steve Cram, in the year he became Commonwealth champion, and another Sheffield athlete, Seb Coe.

However, any hopes of winning any Olympic medals were curtailed by injuries so instead he turned his attention to helping others fulfil their dreams.

“I wanted to be the most successful athlete I possibly could and I felt as though injury stopped me from doing that,” he said in 2012. “I transferred my obsession for training into my obsession for working – as a physiotherapist, as part of the medical team, and as head of science and medicine.

“As the performance director, it feels like an obsession to do the absolute best that I can.”

Few will argue he did that, especially in the build-up to the country’s home Olympic Games where he managed the support system for the entire Team GB athletics squad and also worked closely with Ennis-Hill and Farah.

Black’s eventual departure as performance director came after criticism of his long-term support for Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar, who received a four-year ban for doping offences.

His exit also came after a disappointing showing at the World Championships in Doha, where Great Britain won five medals in their poorest haul since 2005.

Despite leaving the governing body, he continued to work in a consultancy role for several competitors and coaches.