Ron Pickering
Encyclopedia
Ronald James Pickering (4 May 1930 – 13 February 1991), was an athletics coach and BBC
sports commentator. Born in Barking
, Essex
, he coached several Olympic athletes, including Lynn Davies
, a Welsh Olympic Games
gold medallist long jump
er. He was also the first host of the BBC1 children's sports programme We Are the Champions
, a show he presented until his death. He was known for his catchphrase, "Away you go!", at the end of each show, at which point all the teams would jump into the swimming pool (pool events always made up the final phase of the competition).
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sports commentator. Born in Barking
Barking
Barking is a suburban town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, in East London, England. A retail and commercial centre situated in the west of the borough, it lies east of Charing Cross. Barking was in the historic county of Essex until it was absorbed by Greater London. The area is...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, he coached several Olympic athletes, including Lynn Davies
Lynn Davies
Lynn Davies CBE was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club and captain of the British Olympic long jump team in 1964....
, a Welsh Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medallist long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
er. He was also the first host of the BBC1 children's sports programme We Are the Champions
We Are the Champions (TV series)
We are the Champions was a long-running children's sports programme that ran from 13 June 1973 to 25 July 1995. It was originally presented by Ron Pickering but when he died in 1991 Gary Lineker took over until the show ended in 1995....
, a show he presented until his death. He was known for his catchphrase, "Away you go!", at the end of each show, at which point all the teams would jump into the swimming pool (pool events always made up the final phase of the competition).