Comet News
Pensioner set to realise his Olympic dream
8:30am Saturday 11th February 2012
A 74-year-old is finally realising his Olympic dream this summer – 50 years after he missed out on competing because of injury.
Boxing coach George Burton was tipped to represent Great Britain at the Olympics, after he won a British junior boxing title in 1953 aged just 16.
But soon after his fighting career was ended through injury that meant he missed out on competing at the Games.
Now the great-grandfather has now been called up to help coach Team GB’s boxers at London 2012.
He will be one of the oldest coaches at the Games.
He said: “It’s a great honour and personally means a lot to me.
“People said I had every chance of competing at the Olympics, so to be involved now really is special.”
After his injury – where his ears were damaged to badly to continue boxing, Mr Burton, of Worcester Park, turned his hand to coaching, working for many years at Rosehill Boxing Club.
He has coached for the Amateur Boxing Association of England, helping boxers including Carshalton’s Bob Wells, who won the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
But he has never had the chance to help coach the Olympic team, meaning his first involvement with the Olympics will come after he was invited to help out with Team GB this summer.
He is following in the footsteps of his uncle John Burton, who helped coach boxers in the last London Olympics in 1948.
He said: “I still feel great. I may be 74, but I can still go eight to 10 rounds on the pads with them.”
Mr Burton, who now runs a police outreach programme for young people in Feltham, dedicated his achievement to his six month old great-grandson, Alfie.