“Sorry Robin, but sport and exercise is good for people and we should have good facilities. As not everyone is brilliant academically, but may be good at sport, then we should support them too.
As much as we need to rebuild schools, we also need to improve our sporting facilities.
The cost of this track is very small compared to what we spend on education in Derby. As it's been used consistently for many years then we should be prepared to support it.
Fiona May shows what can be achieved, but also shows how limited we are as she gained greater support in her adopted country of Italy.”

“btw Robin, Check your facts: three of the many videos that I've presented were commissioned by Derby City Council. They have nothing to do with my broadcasting role which was a regular slot with BBC Radio Derby. I posted here to defend one of the finest athletes that Derby has ever produced. You came on here to make disparaging, inaccurate personal comments. Nuf said. Maybe as well not to post late at night after a few drinks when you're feeling inadequate, eh?”

“@Robin - The list is much longer than that. Don't blame me if you've done nothing with your life and don't expect me to apologise for the diversity in mine! Your lack of diversity was your choice... or limitation. I sure hope you didn't have kids to foist your small-minded limitations on. I'll collect my award at a time and place of your chosing... :p”

“David Gale > God.”

“David Gale, you astound me! Not only have you been a Police officer, racing engineer, a motorcycle engineer, Superbike racing instructor, a fencing teacher, dancing teacher, IT 'visionary', Broadcaster (in a video that you commissioned!), NOW you tell us that you coached a sprinter! I'm amazed you haven't been given some sort of award for the most diverse career known to man! Either that or some award for talking rubbish!
Back to the subject in hand,I think that this stadium is a waste of money. As a seriously strapped city, we ought to be thinking more about our education establishments than spending it on a running track.
Its a nice to have, and there are better things to spend the money on.”

“@Rams Fan

Fiona May was let down by her country. After she left here she went on to greater achievement. Yes she did it for herself, why shouldn't she? She obviously wanted to be the best she could be. She represented Derby and Britain for many years, but in Italy she got the extra she needed.

She obviously still has great feeling for her old home town or she wouldn't be saying anything. Perhaps the best way she can give something back is to speak out as she has done.

Should she have given up on her own career to campaign to help those behind her? I think not!”

“Fiona says" I never got the support I needed to further my athletics over here". That statement says it all. I would hazard a guess that had she got the funding to train in Britain she wouldn't have left to train in another country.
We have talented youngsters in the county, get them the funding they need to remain here so that they can train without them, or their parents working themselves into the ground to pay for it.
We want them to win the medals and fly the flag for Britain but they can't do it alone, they need good financial backing, preferably without having to jump through hoops to get it.
Not just for athletics, for gymnastics, tennis, swimming, diving etc.”

“I'm not suggesting for a moment that the level of investment in sports in this country is acceptable, not for a second; you can see how poor we are at tennis, the fiasco at the World Cup in South Africa and the reliance on 'foreigners' in our rugby and cricket teams and it is perfectly evident that what investment there is, is too small and badly directed.

There is also the modern penchant for declaring all children as winners and removing competitive sports wherever possible to ensure none of the little darlings feel inadequate, yet quite happy to judge, rate and file them intellectually through SATs and every other exam throughout their lives..

My point is that Fiona May determined to better herself without doing a damn thing to remedy the situation once successful. You, David, describe yourself as going to "extraordinary lengths" to try to achieve UK buy-in; that gives you the right to comment about your endeavours now. Fiona May walked away, did what she thought was best for herself and left British Athletics behind... for me, that removes her right of comment now.

It's just my opinion, I'm not trying to persuade you from yours but nothing will persuade me that Fiona May should dictate what happens to Moorways. The powers that be will eventually come up with a wholly-inadequate and inappropriate design, no doubt multi-coloured and somewhere obscuring the Cathedral, but that will be our problem to moan about, not Fiona May's, because we stay here and live with the consequences.

*re-post due to error message*”

“The problem with funding for any sport in Britain it is rarely given, even when it is, it is a pittance. To train costs money, equipment and clothing costs money. Everyone wants them to win medals but try getting sponsorship or funding, sorry we can't help.
Nearly every other country sees someone with the ability to perform and they are given every assistance to train.
Only when Britain does the same will we keep our best sportsmen and women.
I cannot blame any sportsmen or women for leaving the country to enable them to get enough funding to compete. When they then win medals for that country, fair play to them, that country put in the money and training them. Which is more than Britain did for them.”

“@Rams Fan - many of my own engineering designs have ended up going overseas to be sold back to the UK as finished product, simply because of a UK culture of lack of long-term investment. Similarly, my IT strategic architectures have been greedily gobbled up be foreign powers, despite having gone to excruciating lengths to try and achieve UK buy-in. "Sour-grapes" is the oft-heard retort whenever I mention the cost of £billions to the UK tax-payer of the incompetence of senior civil servants and politicians. Despite having gone to excruciating lengths to enlighten the UK, do I see any hint of change? Not a bit! Does that make me a turn-coat and, more poignantly, would that give you the right to affix such a label to anyone that had triumphed after being comprehensively let down by the country of their birth?

Oh and btw, it sure as hell isn't your country that keeps you motivated on long winter training nights...”