NOBODY DOES IT BETTER
MIKE BAXTER WAS A REGULAR GB INTERNATIONAL IN THE 1970s AND IS NOW A COACH
WORDS: ALASTAIR AITKEN
Mike Baxter: 1971 AAA 5000m champion and international competitor at European, Commonwealth and World Cross events
PICTURES: MARK SHEARMAN
MIKE BAXTER was one of Leeds City’s star athletes from over 40 years ago. In 1968, he was fourth in the AAA 5000m then he had a further breakthrough in the winter where he was second in the 1969 Northern cross-country to Trevor Wright, followed by a sixth place in the National at Parliament Hill to Mike Tagg.
Over this period, Brendan Foster moved to the area and regularly trained with Baxter and Lindsay Dunn and he finally reached international level on the track and made Britain’s team for the 1969 European Championships in Athens.
“Before that I was not in contention for a place in the 5000m. At the last minute, Dick Taylor decided he did not want to double up and it left a spot in the 5000m. ‘British Athletics’ organised a trial race with such athletes as Ian McCafferty, Tagg and John Caine and all these guys and I won it. Because I was a nobody they said: ‘Oh no, we will have another trial’.