21 / 09 / 2011
Mike McFarlane & Stan Madiri are steering young sprinting sensations Jodie Williams et al. to the top and the duo will be presenting a number of speed workshops at IFAC 2011
A prolific team, Mike McFarlane and Stan Madiri – each in their own right top international sprint coaches – are on track to producing the next generation of top British sprinters. Working with some of the UK’s top junior sprinters, McFarlane and Madiri are more than adequately equipped to develop these potentials into the shining stars in British athletics.
Perhaps the most high profile of these future stars is Jodie Williams, the British and European number one junior in 100m and 200m. It was the father of the young sprinting sensation who sought out Madiri to develop Williams’ raw talent and it was Madiri & McFarlane at the helm, delivering her to a sprint double victory at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships in Italy.
Now with McFarlane as the performance coach and Madiri as her speed coach, Williams has gone from victory in the 100m at the 2010 World Junior Champions, Moncton, Canada to another sprint double at this year’s European Junior Championships in Tallin, Estonia. It was earlier this year that young Williams, made her GB senior debut in Paris at the European Indoor Championships over the shorter 60m, finishing just outside the medals in an impressive fourth.
Desiree Henry is the next rising star on the starting blocks, after claiming 200m gold at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille earlier this year. Whilst claiming gold in the northern French city, Henry – the youngest team member of Team GB&NI – also set a world leading time youth time and looks set to be hot on the heels of Williams.
McFarlane is not just a coach, but is also a role model and mentor to these young sprinters, having himself once stood where these prodigies now look to stand. His philosophy was and still is “hard work is a necessity, not an option” – especially with two major championships soon to take place on home soil. In his athlete days, McFarlane won Commonwealth gold over the 200m in 1982, where he was famously tied with Allan Wells since the officials scrutinising over the photo finish were unable to separate the two. McFarlane later went onto become the European Indoor Champion over 60m in 1985 and then claimed Olympic silver as a part of the 4x100m relay at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Just as McFarlane was tied over the 200m with Wells in ’82, it is difficult to separate Madiri and McFarlane over coaching expertises. Zimbabwean-born Madiri, an Msc in Applied sports science, is an IAAF Elite coach and a UK Level IV performance coach – and as McFarlane describes him, “the Master of speed drills.” Madiri played a foundational role in the development of Williams, and now assists McFarlane with all things ‘speed dynamics.’ One of his international sprint hurdles protégés was winner of the IAAF “stars of the future” at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Having served as a National coach for Zimbabwe and groomed four athletes for the 2004 Athens Olympics, Madiri is equally no stranger to the international arenas of athletics.
Madiri and McFarlane will be hosting a number of speed practical workshops and seminars at the 2011 edition of the International Festival of Athletics Coaching and will be sharing their knowledge and experiences of developing young sprinting talent and delivering them to senior performances on the world stage.
