Early Life
Born of Irish heritage (his immediate family hailed from County Cork), Coleman was a keen amateur runner. He attended a grammar school in Cheshire and competed as a schoolboy middle distance runner. In 1949, he won the Manchester Mile as a member of Stockport Harriers, the only non-international runner to do so. He competed in the English National Cross-Country Championships for Manchester Athletic Club in 1952 (116th, 3rd team) and 1953 (118). He ran 440 yards for Staffordshire and injury eventually caused him to give up competitive running. He later became president of the Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club.
He worked as a reporter for the Stockport Express, and during military service worked for the British Army Newspaper Unit. Part of his time in National Service was carried out in Kenya.
He joined Kemsley Newspapers after demobilisation and at twenty two became editor of the Cheshire County Express. He didn't attend the 1952 Olympic trials because of hamstring injuries. Instead he approached the BBC to see if they would like any help with athletics coverage. Although he did not have an audition, the BBC asked him to cover Roger Bannister at Bradford City Police Sports. The following year he began freelance radio work in Manchester.
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