Stephen Maguire quits UK Athletics after relay guru was snubbed for head coach role last month 

Stephen Maguire quits UK Athletics after relay guru was snubbed for head coach role taken by Christian Malcolm last month 

  • Team GB’s Olympics hopes have been dashed after Stephen Maguire resigned 
  • The relay guru was snubbed for the UK Athletics head coach role last month 
  • Christian Malcolm was handed the role much to the disappointment of Maguire 

UK Athletics have taken a huge hit ahead of next year’s Olympics after their highly-respected relays guru Stephen Maguire resigned on Monday.

The Northern Irishman has walked after he was surprisingly overlooked for the head coach position last month.

It brings an end to his six-year tenure as head of sprints, hurdles and relays, the latter of which saw Britain established as a global superpower under his watch. 

Relay guru Steve Maguire has quir UK Athletics which is a blow for Team GB’s Olympics team

The Northern Irishman (left) was snubbed for the head coach role of UK Athletics last month

The Northern Irishman (left) was snubbed for the head coach role of UK Athletics last month

In addition to two women’s relay bronze medals at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Maguire was the mastermind of the astonishing two-day stretch at the London 2017 world championships, where Britain won medals in all four relays, including gold in the men’s 4x100m.

The 2017 BBC coach of the year, who is also performance director at Scottish Athletics, was set to play a key role ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympics, but his departure leaves a gaping hole to fill. 

Maguire is understood to have been enormously disappointed after being overlooked for the head coach position, which went to his former relays assistant Christian Malcolm.

Christian Malcolm (above) was given the head coach role which disappointed Maguire

Christian Malcolm (above) was given the head coach role which disappointed Maguire

His departure was communicated by email to athletes on Monday. It follows the retirement last month of Peter Stanley, the head of field and combined events, and the departure in June of their under-fire head of endurance, Barry Fudge. 

With nine months until the Olympics, Malcolm faces a major rebuild operation, with the wider organisation attempting to piece itself back together under new CEO Joanna Coates after the chaos and criticism of recent years.

Those efforts were interrupted further at the end of last week with the resignation of former world record holder Dave Bedford from the UKA board.