FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tributes to legendary London Marathon supporter John Bryant
Tributes have been paid to John Bryant, one of the most influential figures
and biggest characters in London Marathon history, who has died at the age
of 76.
Bryant was a talented athlete, a coach to the legendary Zola Budd and one
of the country's most respected journalists, serving in senior positions at
the Daily Telegraph, the Times and the Daily Mail during a Fleet Street
career that spanned more than four decades.
He was a great supporter of the London Marathon from the outset and
combined his journalistic skills with his passion for running to help
develop the event into the greatest marathon in the world.
Bryant was a close friend of London Marathon co-founder Chris Brasher and
competed in 29 editions of the race himself. He went on to write The London
Marathon: The History of the Greatest Race on Earth, which was published in
2006 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the race, and served for 10
years on the board of the London Marathon Charitable Trust. He was Chairman
of The Trust from 2011 to 2017, before becoming Vice President.
Sir Rodney Walker, who succeeded Bryant as Chairman of The Trust, said: "I
was fortunate to have served as John's deputy for a number of years and
benefited from his knowledge of the formation & history of the London
Marathon. Along with many people, I was saddened when following a sudden
illness, he found himself unable to continue as Chairman of The London
Marathon Charitable Trust. Typical of the man, as he began his recovery, he
gave me his total support as his successor. His bravery as he recovered
from his illness brought him huge respect and affection, so much so, the
Trustees were unanimous in inviting him to become Vice President. He will
be sadly missed."
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of London Marathon Events (LME), said: "John
was an incredible supporter not only of the London Marathon but also of my
father. His wisdom and knowledge across sport and media, were immeasurably
helpful and their friendship, camaraderie and enjoyment of a long run,
followed by a pint or two plotting their next escapade, are memories I will
always treasure."
Nick Bitel, Chief Executive of LME, said: "John was one of the earliest
supporters of the Marathon and served as a Trustee for many years. His
encyclopaedic knowledge of running, the media and of the Marathon was
invaluable.
"Even when he retired as a Trustee, he continued his connection to the
Marathon as Vice President and, when his health allowed, was to be seen in
the Finish grandstands for long periods on race day."
Bryant fell in love with running as a child in the village of Haselbury
Plucknet, Somerset, when he was able to catch up with the school bus as it
drove through the village.
While studying law at Oxford University, he was captain of the
cross-country running club and represented British Universities on the
track.
He soon stepped up to marathon running and after testing his body's
capability over the distance, he ran his personal best of 2:21 at the 1973
Harlow Marathon.
Despite plenty of attempts, that PB would never be broken but for Bryant
the love of running marathons trumped everything else and he was a proud
starter in the very first London Marathon in March 1981.
Recalling how he was invited to race in the inaugural edition, Bryant told
Martin Yelling's Marathon Talk podcast in 2012: "Chris Brasher wanted to
whip up some publicity for the event so he entered quite a few newspaper
people and Hertz, the car rental company, put up a prize for the first
media finisher - and I won. I think they kept it up for a couple of years
so I have got two of the biggest trophies ever for winning the media award
for the first couple of London Marathons. And the prize went with an
enormous amount of Champagne and a week's free car hire anywhere in the
world with Hertz!"
On his overall memories of the first race, he added: "There were
helicopters overhead, all sorts of shenanigans going on and only one start
so it was a hell of a squeeze to get through the gates. But somehow I
managed to get to the front, and I actually led the race for quite a while.
I ran quite fast for the first 10 to 12 miles, but then I started to get a
pain in my hamstring and by three or four miles from the finish I could
hardly walk." He still finished in a respectable time of 2:45.
Bryant would continue to run the London Marathon both before and after he
was hit by a car while out running where he sustained an injury so severe
he had doctors telling him he would never walk again.
One year he even ran in fancy dress costume, dressed as the famous Italian
marathoner Dorando Pietri who won over the hearts of the world when he won
the 1908 Olympic marathon in London only to be disqualified for receiving
help from umpires who had helped him after he collapsed with exhaustion.
Bryant had such a love for this epic marathon tale that in 2008, on the
100th anniversary of the race, he ran the full route of the 1908 Olympic
Marathon from Windsor Castle to White City.
Bryant was also had an integral part in another of the most famous stories
in British athletics history.
He was the Daily Mail features editor when he heard word of a young South
African who was running astonishing times for 5000m and 3000m. He tasked
one of his reporters to track the athlete down and soon had on his desk the
astonishing story of Zola Budd, the barefoot teenage runner from
Bloemfontain.
Once his story had been published in the Daily Mail, it sparked a campaign
from the newspaper to get her UK citizenship so she could compete in the
1984 Olympics. Despite not approving of the media storm, he agreed to help
Budd as an athlete, first training alongside her and then becoming her
coach. It was in this capacity that he joined Budd at the 1984 Olympics
where she had her famous clash with the USA's home favourite Mary Decker.
Bryant died peacefully at his home in Surrey on Thursday following a long
illness.
He is survived by his wife, Carol, two sons, Matthew and William, and six
grandchildren.
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