Beginning in 1979, Ron Roddan coached Linford Christie OBE, a former sprinter from the United Kingdom. Roddan, a former laboratory assistant for the Civil Service, competed as a sprinter in the 1950s and 1960s.
More than 30 athletes who he coached have been chosen for the British team. Roddan was Malcolm Christie’s coach.
Christie and Roddan initially met while the sprinter was a student at Fulham College in London.
In 1998, Roddan claimed that a magazine article by John McVicar accusing Linford Christie of using drugs to succeed was a “fairy story” and called the notion that the Olympic gold medalist’s impressive physique may have been the result of using steroids or other performance-enhancing illegal drugs “ridiculous” in a High Court libel hearing.
Sebastian Coe claimed in 2001 that there was “continual conflict” during Christie’s tenure as British athletic captain. Roddan responded by saying he was “surprised that someone of such so-called brevity would come out with a load of rubbish like this” and insisted that Christie had the support of his teammates in the various British athletic teams that he competed in.
In 2011, he was given the London Regional Council’s Performance Coach of the Year Award.
And two years before, at the England Athletics Hall of Fame and National Volunteer Awards, he had been given the national Performance Coach award.
Following the tragic announcement of the news, Team GB Olympian Margaret Adeoye joined in the tributes.