Olympic gold medallist Tim Brabants joins Daily Telegraph London marathon team
Olympic gold medallist Dr Tim Brabants had little hesitation in picking up the baton as captain of the Telegraph/Brain and Spine Foundation London marathon team for 2009.
By Gareth A Davies
Last Updated: 10:13PM GMT 27 Oct 2008
Olympic gold medallist Dr Tim Brabants had little hesitation in picking up the baton as captain of the Telegraph/Brain and Spine Foundation London marathon team for 2009.
"It's a real honour, and I didn't really have to think about it," said Brabants, who, as the non-running, honorary team captain he will dispense advice and encouragement with a knowledge no other team captain has had before him.
Brabants, the Olympic sprint canoe champion, is, of course, a doctor of medicine. Our new leader for 2009 follows in the footsteps of previous team captains, including Zara Phillips and Mark Ramprakash last year, Des Lynam, Gabby Logan, Kirsty Gallacher, Andrew Castle, Ade Adepitan and Frank Warren.
In the past 10 years, more than £1.1 million has been raised by our runners for the charity, founded by consultant neurosurgeon Peter Hamlyn, the man who saved the life of former boxer Michael Watson with six brain operations.
In April 2003, Watson captured the imagination and hearts of the public by taking on the marathon challenge as captain of the Telegraph team after battling back from brain injuries sustained in his fight with Chris Eubank 12 years earlier. A year before attempting the marathon he could barely walk and it took Watson six days to complete the 26.2 miles.
Hamlyn still insists Watson's feat is a medical miracle. Hamlyn said: "We are so very grateful to our London Marathon team of runners. Over the past 10 years they have helped to raise over £1,000,000 and in doing so have provided a lifeline for thousands affected by neurological conditions."
Since 1992, the Foundation have developed ground-breaking research into neurological disorders, and oversee a dedicated 24-hour phone service, manned by neurological nurses.
Brabants, who admits he has never run a full marathon – but took part in the Wimbledon half-marathon – should provide plenty of inspiration to our team. He is certainly an action man.
He has already offered to go on a training run with members of the team, and when we caught up with him, his Olympic gold medal was tucked safely away in a drawer at home, as he was heading down to Croyde in Cornwall for the weekend, optimistic that the swell was growing there for a couple of days on the surfboard.
Brabants is not a man to rest on his laurels. After his gold and bronze in Beijing, he says the time has flown by.
''I'm looking to get back into the medical world after a whirlwind of media interviews, functions, Buckingham Palace, Labour and Conservative Party Conferences with the British Olympic Association," he said.
"I'll look to get into medicine again full-time for a year or so, before then perhaps returning to full-time sport."
"But I'm delighted to be asked to be captain of the Telegraph/Brain and Spine Foundation team for 2009. No doubt I'll feel guilty at some point that I'm not doing it myself."
Brabants is acutely aware that accidents and neurological disorders can affect people's lives. He lost an aunt to brain cancer recently, and is aware of the trauma and tragedy such illnesses can create.
After the Athens Games four years ago, Dr Brabants worked in Accident and Emergency in Nottingham for a year, and then at another hospital on Jersey for six months. "I think it's important to have a balance in an amateur sport like I'm in. I get sporting and academic pleasure doing both, and I'm challenged and fulfilled.
"Since I won the gold medal, it is a strange, noticeable difference, but then winning a gold medal itself is so special because even just being an Olympian is special in itself.
"That is the spirit people feel, too, when they take part in a marathon, raising money for others. I think I'll be going back to A&E. I like the high adrenalin, and working in a team. And the fact that anything can happen, and there is an immediacy to your work."
Will he defend his 1000m K1 title in 2012? "I'd love to compete at the Olympics in London, but I'm 31 not 21, and it depends on two things: how I am career-wise and how I am body-wise. Right now, two months after the Games, it is hard to commit."
Our team captain looks forward to meeting the massed ranks of the team at Arsenal on Jan 15.
We are looking for runners young and old, of all abilities, but with one thing in common: that you have the team spirit and drive to raise much-needed funds for the charity. At the team convention at the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal, in January, a group of experts headed by Gary Lewin, the Arsenal and England physiotherapist, will dispense advice on training, nutrition and diet ahead of the long run for life.
Whether you are lucky enough to have had a successful ballot application, or would like one of our guaranteed places, every runner will receive extensive training and fund-raising advice from a group of experts.
They will also receive a Brain and Spine Foundation vest and will get to enjoy a post-race reception with friends, family and fellow runners at the Thistle Hotel, Trafalgar Square, where there will be refreshments and a massage available.
As for the 2009 team, we are expecting up to 100 runners.
To apply for one of our guaranteed entry charity places, please fill out the form below, together with a covering letter, explaining in 100 words why you would like to join our team.
The deadline for entries is Friday, Dec 12. Alternatively, if you have your own place in the London Marathon ballot, we'd be delighted to have you on our team. Please contact Sarah Himelfield for a welcome pack on 0207 793 5913 or sarah.himelfield@brainandspine.org.uk
Forms to be returned to: Sarah Himelfield, The Brain and Spine Foundation, 7 Winchester House, Kennington Park, Cranmer Road, London, SW9 6EJ.
