Briton to Coach Chinese Marathoners

Alan Storey, a 39-year-old London resident, flies to China next week to develop marathon running in the world’s most populous country.

Storey has been given a year’s sabbatical by his employers in the north of England to try to produce a Chinese marathon team capable of taking on and beating the world’s best.

“With such a large population, there must be untapped potential and it is up to me to uncover it. I don’t believe I can fail,” said Storey, who has overall responsibility for marathon running in this country and has coached several top stars, including Hugh Jones and Mike McLeod, the 10,000-meter Olympic silver medalist.

China, accepted back into international competition only three years ago, has been disappointed with the progress of its marathon men and women athletes, said Storey.

“At the moment, they have only four or five men capable of running under 2 hours, 20 minutes and a solitary woman running under 2 hours, 40 minutes,” he said.

“The Chinese lack coaching expertise and decided an outside coach could take them to the top.”

The men’s world best mark, held by Portugal’s Carlos Lopes, stands at 2:07:11. The world best for women, held by Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway, is 2:21:06.

Storey got the job after sports officials in Peking contacted the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the governing body of track and field, asking for a recommendation.

“They wanted someone to come from a country with success in marathon running and someone who could get a year off work,” Storey, a bank employee, told the Associated Press from his Durham home in the north-east of England.

“I was fortunate to be nominated and to be given a year off by the bank,” he said.

Storey will be based in Jinan, south of Peking, at a college housing some of the China’s best young marathoners. He doesn’t speak a word of Chinese but will have a full-time interpreter.

“This is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime and I couldn’t resist it,” he said.

Storey’s first task will be to select a women’s team to compete in the world 15-kilometer championships in November.

His only regret is having to leave behind his wife and 3-year-old son, David.

“To do the job properly, it’s better to go on my own. I’ll be moving around a lot and burning the midnight oil. I need complete freedom while I’m there,” he said.