As an athlete, the 400m hurdler landed international titles and reached the highest. Now, as Matt Majendie discovers, the Welshman is now realising a long-held teaching ambition
The final time Dai Greene utilized for a job, it was at his native McDonald’s.
So way back was it, the previous world, Olympic and Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion can not recall how the interview went or if he in truth even had one. He did, although, land the job flipping burgers and serving prospects.
Quick ahead almost 20 years and Greene is sat in one of many workplaces at Loughborough’s HIPAC, fretting barely. There isn’t any concern over the teaching ingredient of this specific interview, nor any physiological queries or questions relating to assets.
“It’s humorous however the one factor I used to be involved about was answering questions on myself and why I used to be appropriate for the job,” he remembers. “I discover it a bit of bit cringe to promote myself.”
We joke he merely needed to showcase the gold medals from his profession, which solely ended final summer time, to seal the job. However he had already aided his trigger by having been working behind the scenes at Loughborough after being referred to as in as a brief stand-in to assist an athlete or two.
Greene likes to assume his workers have been sufficiently impressed by a training prowess formed by his personal former mentors in each Malcolm Arnold and Benke Blomkvist to take an opportunity on him, regardless of his relative lack of expertise within the discipline.
He has been relishing life just some months into his function as head of sprints and hurdles at Loughborough College, overseeing the likes of Alex Haydock-Wilson and Jess Turner amongst others. It’s a teaching journey a very long time within the making, with Greene having received his teaching {qualifications} again in 2008 earlier than he had received any of his international titles on the monitor.
“I knew, even then, I at all times needed to do it,” he says of realising his teaching ambitions greater than a decade and a half later. “I’ve at all times loved serving to folks in my group, I feel I’ve at all times had eye for element and have seen myself as a mentor to different folks round me.”
For the previous two years, Greene had dipped his toe within the teaching waters, beginning to discover his ft as a coach beneath Mark Goode at Notts AC the place he took time to work out what sort of coach he was and needed to be. That’s nonetheless a piece in progress.
Dai Greene (Jonty Mitchell)
As for what he’s like as a coach, he says: “That’s query. I discovered my persona in that course of at Notts AC. I prefer to assume I’m partaking by way of giving suggestions to type points and being supportive to the children particularly.
“You want to have the ability to put your arm round them as loads of them are simply 19 or 20 and must be informed they’ll obtain nice issues. Different days, it’s a must to take a tougher line when they should go to the nicely. It’s a mix of loads of issues.”
Greene insists he hasn’t flicked into indignant mode simply but in his teaching function however has taken aspects from each of the aforementioned principal coaches who moulded his athletics profession, in addition to the present coaches round him at Loughborough.
Having tried his hand at enterprise ventures in addition to the after-dinner talking circuit as his personal sporting profession drew to a detailed, not one of the alternatives gave the now 38-year-old the satisfaction that he craved. Teaching, in distinction, has suited him to a tee.
“It’s the one factor that’s actually happy me,” he says. “I’m excited to get to work with proficient athletes every day. Nothing fills the void like competing however watching them obtain issues in coaching they didn’t assume they may do is vastly rewarding.”
Greene talks of his personal profession as cut up into two components. There was the one as World, European and Commonwealth champion throughout 2010 and 2011, then the groin and hip surgical procedure in 2013 which wrote off the following 5 years. He by no means totally recaptured his greatest kind and health after that.
Dai Greene (Mark Shearman)
Regardless of that, he nonetheless plugged away at it till his daughter Eira was born on the finish of 2023. All of the sudden, the athletics routine and pushing himself in coaching was now not the be all and finish all.
“I didn’t wish to practice anymore and assume I simply wanted an excuse to cease,” he says. “As quickly as she [Eira] got here alongside, she turned way more vital. I’m glad I attempted so long as I did and there aren’t any regrets, however I wanted one thing else to come back alongside.”
The previous yr has had its ups and downs, Eira born with a uncommon genetic dysfunction referred to as Noonan syndrome. Alarm bells rang when she didn’t develop within the first three months regardless of feeding nicely, and it took months and spells in hospital to get a prognosis.
“It hasn’t been a simple 12 months or so, and she or he’s a bit slower to develop than others,” says Greene. “She might have something starting from studying difficulties to coronary heart points and would possibly develop up with no issues in any respect. Some folks with it want carers and a few don’t even know they’ve received it.”
It was throughout a stint in hospital along with his daughter that his Loughborough teaching journey started. An athlete referred to as him to ask if he might assist coach them, which became two after which step by step expanded as phrase unfold. That in flip spawned his present job the place he at present has 10 athletes beneath his cost.
Eira got here near arriving within the firm of two different former world champions Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Andrew Pozzi after the couple have been visiting Greene and his companion Jess on the farm the place they reside. It had been a uncommon likelihood for the 4 of them to have a get collectively outdoors of the season for a session of board video games.
Dai Greene (Mark Shearman)
“Jess had been a bit unwell and we thought it was Braxton Hicks pretend labour contractions,” Greene remembers. “She went upstairs as she wasn’t feeling nice, and all of us stored on enjoying. Then she was sick so we referred to as the hospital to ask what that meant. They informed us the child was on the way in which.
“So, it was a case of: ‘Sorry guys, off you go’. Positive sufficient, we messaged them three hours later to inform them we had a child!”
As for his personal working profession, Greene appears to be like again on it with no regrets regardless of the harm struggles of the previous decade and being unable to emulate the glory years of 2010 and 2011.
“I’d have had regrets if I’d nipped it within the bud sooner,” he says. “But it surely was loads of battle, battle after which fall quick.”
Even now, he can not fairly shake off the previous athlete in him when coaching his younger expenses, competing towards them in sure exams and, a lot to his amusement, nonetheless setting the benchmark in at the least one.
And he is aware of that, when the season will get beneath manner, there’ll nonetheless be slight pangs for his former previous. “I’ll miss being on the market myself,” he admits, “however I don’t assume that’ll final lengthy. I’m simply trying ahead to being in my athletes’ nook after they head to competitions.”