Margot Wells on a mission to make Thom Evans' athletics dream come true

Sports writer

Wednesday 8 February 2012

ONLY alert first aid by the SRU doctor and physiotherapist saved Thom Evans' life when the Scotland centre suffered a neck injury at Cardiff two years ago, and it was the skill of surgeons who gave his spine a metal superstructure which ensured he would not spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

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Doug Gillon

Now the knowledge of athletics coach Margot Wells has presented Evans with the chance of another sporting career. He makes his championship debut over 60 metres at Glasgow's Kelvin Hall a week on Sunday.

A former pe teacher and Scottish hurdles champion, Margot is the wife and mentor of the 1980 Olympic 100m champion, Allan. She suspects this might be premature, but goes along with Evans' delight in returning to competitive sport.

"Scottishathletics are maybe too keen to get him running," she said yesterday. "They have been at us for several weeks. It's not my fault Scotland hasn't got any sprinters. They're looking to me and Thom to be the saviours of Scottish sprinting, and that's hardly fair."I told them he'd never run a race in his life, that he might do just one and hate it – he didn't, as it turns out, but he's only run three 60s. If he'd been with me for a year, we'd be a lot further on. Thom thought he might do some charity marathons. The training miles stripped his body completely of any pace and power. So he's working really hard off no background."People don't understand speed. When I was coaching Allan, I knew half-inch letters on a postage stamp. Now I could write an encyclopaedia. Then it was 10% knowledge and 90% instinct. Now it's the other way round. Thom ran last weekend and looked great in the warm-up but the gun went and he reverted to rugby running. And rugby running and sprinting are not the same. He felt it, saw the video, and knew what I meant."His time of 7.22 might be just good enough to make the Scottish final, "but there's huge scope to improve," she says. "He's very quick for a rugby player, but not an athlete yet. "I'm confident the limiting factor will not be my knowledge – or Thom's application. We will give it our best shot and it will be exciting to see what happens. And if he makes it to a higher level, he will have all the advice that Allan can give."She will not be employing a battery of sports science. Wells is a practical, hands-on coach whose company is in significant demand.She is an exponent of what I believe is a lost art. It would be perverse to deny advances in physiology, psychology, physiotherapy, strength and conditioning, nutrition, biomechanics, injury-prevention and management. Yet I fear sophistication has led to neglect of what was already known, to which years of static record progression and stagnation in elite performance will testify.For example, in Margot Wells's event (100m hurdles – she ranks fifth with 13.71 from 1982) there has been only one addition to the Scottish all-time top five since 1983. In the event at which Allan won Olympic gold, there's been just one addition since 1987. Wells set the Scottish 100m record (10.11) in the 1980 Olympic semi-final. Several Scottish native marks date back nearly 42 years.All of that predated lottery investment, pre-institute of sport, when athletics had one full time employee, the national coach. Scottishathletics now has 19 full time and three part time staff. The sportscotland Institute of Sport has 71. It does not specify how many are part time. The SRU employs more than 200, excluding contracted players. Other sports display similar proliferation. An audit of performance and rising standards set against staffing and expenditure would be embarrassing."A sport scientist told me, when I described how Allan ran, that I was wrong. I was there six nights a week for 12 years. He had never seen Allan run." She may well be right in her assertion: "Single-handedly, these kind of guys are ruining British sport."Somebody recently asked Margot what she did for a living. "I make dreams come true," she told them."What? Are you a fairy?""No, I'm a coach, and my job is to make peoples' dreams come true."Scottishathletics has used Allan only a handful of times in 30 years, and have never approached Margot, but she confirmed they would help if asked. Her company, the Wellfast School of Speed, currently has a squad of 25, and past and current clients include an awesome who's who of rugby.A by-no-means-inclusive list numbers Scotland and British Lions players Derek White, Damian Cronin, and Paul Burnell; English Lions Dan Luger and Lawrence Dallaglio; Scottish internationalists such as Iain Morrison, Eric Peters, and Kenny Logan; English ones such as Andy Gomarsall, Paul Sackey, Danny Cipriani, Nick Greenstock, and Riki Flutey.Olympic champion Wells hi mself remarked recently: "If you knew back then what you know now about sprint training, I'd have been the Usain Bolt of my era.""Yeah, you would have been, pet," replied Margot, "but I didn't, and if I had, you'd still not have bloody listened!"It's time the untapped well of Scottish talent was turned on stream. Margot and Allan Wells are just two of a catalogue of champions – and established coaches – whom the sport is overdue calling on. And listening to.

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Margot Wells on a mission to make Thom Evans' athletics dream come true

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