The most generous man in the sport

BRITISH MILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN AND ATHLETICS FAN BARRIE WELLS HAS HELPED JESSICA ENNIS-HILL, KATARINA JOHNSON-THOMPSON AND OTHERS REACH THEIR POTENTIAL WITH HIS SPONSORSHIP AND SUPPORT. JASON HENDERSON MEETS THE MOST GENEROUS MAN IN ATHLETICS

- JASON HENDERSON

IN 2008 Barrie Wells was sitting in the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing watching the Olympic Games and had an idea. After making millions selling insurance businesses, the money was burning a hole in his pocket. Donating it to international charities was a possibility. Yet what really excited him was the idea of bolstering the chances of British Olympic hopes in the run-up to London 2012.

“I told my son, who I was sitting next to, that I was going to give a lot of his inheritance away to athletes,” says Wells, “and he thought it was a great idea!”

After Beijing, Wells set about identifying people from various Olympic sports to help, which included, among others, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Jessica Ennis-Hill. In total he spent about £2 million helping them realise their ambitions, effectively turning him into one of the biggest unsung heroes in British athletics as the athletes won global titles.

I meet Wells at the offices of his Barrie Wells Trust in Lancaster. I have bumped into him a few times briefly on the athletics circuit over the years and we had exchanged emails a few times but I was keen to get to know a man who has surely been the sport’s biggest benefactor in the last decade or so.

Social distancing is only just starting to kick in across the country, although soon after my visit Wells’ office will, like many others, temporarily close. So I am lucky to get my interview with him in before the national shutdown begins.