One of the world’s most respected technical officials, the 81-year-old was the director of athletics at London 2012.
Malcolm Rogers, the much-respected Sheffield-based athletics specialist, has died aged 81.
Rogers was the director of athletics at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, but his history in the sport goes back years.
Originally a PE teacher, he retired in 2011 to focus fully on refereeing in the run-up to the London Games and enjoyed a total of half a century as an athletics official. Roles included being National Official Secretary for nearly 20 years, he was Regional Technical Officer for Europe from 1996-2013 and a long-standing member of the Great Britain Athletics Technical Committee.
He was also involved in officiating para-athletics events in the 1980s and 1990s and helped incorporate them into mainstream events.
In 2023 he was awarded an MBE for services to athletics. Having lived in Sheffield for many years, he was proud to see Jessica Ennis-Hill, Seb Coe and Peter Elliott come out of his area.
UK Athletics said: “Malcolm was one of Britain’s and the world’s top athletics officials for over 50 years. in 2023 Awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honors, he has played a central role in athletics’ major events and even recently supported the organizing committee’s plans for the Birmingham 2026 European Summer Championships.
“What made Malcolm so special and integral was his reliability and efficiency, especially during the most stressful moments at major events, when athletes were aiming to fulfill their dreams in front of thousands of people in the stands and millions watching on TV.
“Never flustered, and with an extremely calming presence, he has worked on every major athletics event in Great Britain since 2002, either as a competition director or manager of competition administration.
