THE sporting community of Thurrock is mourning following the passing of Micky Malt.
Micky ran a Gym in East Tilbury for many years. It was used by most of the area’s top sports people, including Olympians Fatima Whitbread and David Ottley.
Fatima’s Mother, Maggie said: “I knew Mick over a period of 55 years. He was a good friend of my dad, Jim Callender.
“They shared a passion for Boxing. With the help of a band of other enthusiasts, they worked extremely hard to build a boxing club in Chadwell St Mary. The club is still thriving. In the early 70’s Mick converted a large shed in his back garden into a weight training facility. He invited sports people to use the well-equipped gym. Invariably he was on hand to guide them through programmes applicable to their chosen disciplines”.
Fatima writes “Micky will always have a special place in my heart. He played a huge role in helping me both in my sports career and my life generally.”
Thurrock Harriers Dave Staines added his own tribute. Dave said: “The running community will be shocked at the news of Mick’s death. He was doing local Parkruns until very recently and early on competed in all the top Marathons. He was a real “Iron Man”.
The members of the Thurrock parkrun community also posted a message regarding Micky on their Facebook page.
“It is with great sadness that I pass on the news that our beloved runner and regular volunteer marshal, Mick Malt, passed away.
“Mick was a great ambassador for Thurrock parkrun and did a great deal to help establish and maintain it.
To many of us, he was Mick the Motivator. He always made you feel he was there just for you and his cheery positive encouragement gave you the boost to try a little harder.
“Although he’ll be greatly missed, we will look at the sky each Saturday morning as we all take our part and know that our parkrun guardian angel is looking down and cheering us on.”
