Today is March 8, which means we recognize International Women’s Day (IWD) around the world.
In the past, I wrote about Coach/athlete Irena Szewinska, and athletes Wyomia Tyus and Chi Cheng.
For 2012, I reached out to Margot Wells. I feel coaching elite sprinters is a rarity for women. Sharon Hannan, Sally Pearson’s coach of AUS comes to mind, and that’s about it. Don’t forget Margot started coaching in the late 1970’s, which was unheard of back then, at least in North America.
Margot Wells was an International sprinter and hurdler, but she is probably most famous for being the wife and coach of Allan Wells, the 1980 100m Olympic Gold medalist.
Wellfast – Margot Wells School of Speed
After taking a break from coaching to raise her children, she founded Wellfast – Margot Wells School of Speed and includes a large list of football and rugby players.
More recently, her track success now has sprinter Greg Cackett and rugby-turned-sprinter Thom Evans. Two years ago, Evans broken neck ended his rugby career.
In our interview, I also get a chance to talk about her book “The Allan Wells Book of Sprinting” which was primarily intended to school teachers and beginner coaches. A lot has changed in the past 30 years, including weight training, but not the weight training you think it is!
If there were 2 things that stood out about Allan Wells, it would be
- He proved he could start fast without starting blocks
- The use of the speedbag
I also get a chance to compare and contrast her methods to Pietro Mennea‘s (and specifically Carlo Vittori).
Margot Wells Interview
Technology is not perfect, and unfortunately my recorder software hiccupped after 27 minutes. I only could salvage the audio portion of that part of the call, and it’s less than perfect with the pops/cracking as well as voices getting garbled due to poor internet connectivity.
If you can suffer through that (at least for the first 2 minutes of the call), this call provides a LOT of out-of-the-box thinking, and that every training program MUST be tailored to every individual. “Trust no one”… ask questions. Always ask you why you are prescribing a certain workout or exercise. What are you trying to accomplish? And, is there a better way to do things?
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I love this interview but it was so hard to understand it not just because of the sound quality but her accent. I wish we could get a written copy of this interview or maybe just a synthesis of her main points. I love your site and interviews ….so fascinating!!! I will probably just listen to it over and over and try to decipher her accent smh…
The methods work. I dropped from 12.2 to 11.90 fat as a masters. The fitness circuit is an important piece of the puzzle. Also the Reps of 120’s help the 200. I went from 25.2 to 24.3 fat . I started in January with the speed ball and circuits. and started running in Late april 6 weeks of running. Jimson does Margo have any new books or seminars? I am def. a believer of this system.
@John, she doesn’t have anything new coming out, but check her website. I will see her in person soon, hopefully before London Olympics.
I also believe you have to be an athlete first, before you can become a sprinter. Any imbalances must be corrected early, before trouble sinks in.