Stuart Storey

High hurdler Stuart Storey attended Spalding Grammar School in Lincolnshire where he was good at athletics, cricket, rugby, and tennis. He also represented Lincolnshire Schools at hockey. Storey was far more interested in sport than education and his headmaster told him that he would: “never earn a living from sport.” Several years later, after earning a nice living from sport, Storey returned to the school for a prizegiving and related that conversation with the Head.

As a junior, Storey first competed in the English Schools Championships at the age of 15, and in 1959 and 1961 won the under-17 and under-19 titles respectively. After going to Loughborough College to train to be a maths and physical education teacher, Storey won the 1965 Universities Athletic Union (UAU) hurdles title. Storey never won a senior AAA title but was third in both 1968 and 1969 when Alan Pascoe was in front on him each time. Storey also enjoyed five AAA indoor podiums, being runner-up to Pascoe three times in 1967 and 1969-70.

After leaving Loughborough, Storey taught at a school in Buckinghamshire before moving to the USA in 1967 to complete a master’s degree. He was selected for the 1968 Mexico Olympics but was eliminated in his opening 110 metres hurdles heat. Storey also competed in the 1969 European Championships at Athens and 1970 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.

In the early 1970s Storey got a job as a commentator for the BBC and covered the first of nine consecutive Summer Olympics for them in 1976. In addition to athletics, he also commentated on a wide variety of sports including basketball, judo, netball, squash, swimming, table tennis, triathlon, speed skating, and more. He quit the BBC in 2008 to become a freelancer and later worked for IMG Media. Storey was also an athletics coach and worked with leading athletes Daley Thompson and Geoff Capes, who, like Storey, lived at Holbeach, Lincolnshire.

Storey’s wife Shirley was an international basketball player and both their sons played rugby, while one of them, James, followed in his father’s footsteps by winning a medal (silver) at the English Schools Athletic Championships.

Personal Best: 110H – 14.20 (1968).