Alan Pascoe

In the second half of the 1960s and first half of the 70s, Britain’s Alan Pascoe was one of the world’s outstanding hurdlers and won a vast collection of medals at all the major international championships. Considering he was a severe asthmatic as a youngster, to reach the heights he did was remarkable.

At the age of 11 Pascoe wanted to be a cricketer but went off the sport after he went to live in Malta for two-and-a-half years, when his father was posted to the Mediterranean Island with the Royal Navy. After returning to school in Portsmouth, Pascoe started hurdling as a 14-year-old and in 1966 won the English Schools 120 yards title, which he retained the following year. Also in 1967 he equalled the UK 110m hurdles record, won the AAA Indoor sprint hurdles title (he won it again four more times in 1968-70, and 1973) and captured the AAA’s senior 120 yards title as the highest placed British athlete. Pascoe also made his full Great Britain international début in 1967, while still at school.

Despite retaining his senior AAA title in 1968, any chance of an Olympic medal in Mexico were scuppered by injury and illness, as he finished fourth in his heat with the same time as the third placed Sergio Liani (Italy), who went through to the semi-final. Back to full fitness in 1969, Pascoe took the AAA title by virtue of being the best placed Briton again, and took both the European Indoor gold at Beograd and bronze at the European Championships in Athens, when he was beaten by Italy’s Eddy Ottoz and team-mate, and Olympic champion, Dave Hemery.

Pascoe’s only major success in 1970 was in winning the Southern Counties title, but the following year he won both the AAA hurdles and 200 metre flat titles and collected a hurdles silver medal at the Helsinki Europeans. Pascoe went to the 1972 Olympics having retained the hurdles/200 metres double at the AAAs but was sadly eliminated in the 110 hurdles semi-final after finishing seventh. Pascoe did, however, get an Olympic medal as part of the GB 4x400 relay squad that won silver. His team-mates were Hemery, Martin Reynolds, and David Jenkins.

After the Olympics, Hemery switched to the 400 metres hurdles and continued to enjoy success. He won the AAA title in 1973 and 1976-77, and at the 1974 Roma Europeans won both the 400 hurdles and 4x400 gold. At the British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Christchurch, New Zealand that same year, Pascoe won the hurdles gold and relay silver. Pascoe went to the 1976 Montréal Olympics confident of winning a medal but a series of injuries, as in 1968, hampered him again, and despite reaching the 400 hurdles final he finished eighth. After winning the AAAs in 1976 and 1977 Pascoe’s last major international success was a bronze medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games at Edmonton, Canada.

After retiring from competitive athletics in September 1978, and having been a physical education teacher and college lecturer, Pascoe went on to become one of the pioneers io sports marketing in Britain.

An influential figure in the athletics world, Pascoe did a lot to put British athletics on a firm financial footing. He went into television broadcasting and sport marketing and sponsorship. Through his companies API and Fast Track, he raised more than £100 million in sponsorship for athletics. He also organised hundreds of top-class televised track and field meetings, and acted as an agent and advisor for many top athletes and other sports stars and celebrities. Pascoe was vice-chairman of the London 2012 Olympic bid and helped Glasgow secure the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He was awarded the MBE in 1975 for services to athletics.

Pascoe was coached by Doug James in the early part of his career and in 1970 he married Doug’s daughter Della, who was a double Olympian and WAAA sprint champion. At one time, Alan and Della lived on the banks of the River Thames in a house that had been owned by Pink Floyd lead guitarist Dave Gilmour.

Personal Bests: 400 – 46.83 (1973); 110H – 13.79 (1972); 400H – 48.59 (1975).