A biographical analysis of Spanish athletics coaching pioneers (1939–1992)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Athletics in Spain was a very minority practice until the 1950s, when athletics underwent a progressive development and institutionalisation that included the appearance, for the first time, of the role of the coach. Through the biographical study of five coaches of the first generation, this research aims to illuminate how the figure of the coach was built. Thus, the profession of coach arises first from the few existing athletic clubs, and later through the profession of physical education teacher. Starting in the 1960s, coaches had access to greater institutionalisation through the growth of the federation and the internationalisation of Spanish sport. The arrival of democracy also allowed them to enter the new regional institutions and take over new power positions in local politics. Finally, the organisation of the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 meant the final athletics institutionalisation.