Sam Mussabini (1867-1927)
 Scipio Africanus (Sam) Mussabini was perhaps one of the greatest ever athletics coaches.
Born in London in 1867 and of Arab, Turkish, Italian and French ancestry, he lived at 84 Burbage Road from 1913 until his death in 1927 and coached in athletics and cycling at the Herne Hill Velodrome.
His most famous success was in coaching Harold Abrahams to a gold medal in the 100m and silver in the 4X100m at the 1924 Paris Olympics. This success was immortalised in the Academy Award winning film Chariots of Fire in which Mussabini is played by Ian Holm, an actor more recently seen as Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
In a career as an athletics coach that spanned five Olympics over 21 years, his coaching amounted to a staggering 11 Olympic medals. Mussabini was also an accomplished journalist, billiards player and a keen cricketer.
Despite his amazing achievements, Mussabini was ostracised because he was a paid coach in the amateur era and so never received the recognition he deserved. His name does, however, live on in The Mussabini Medal which is awarded annually by Sports Coach UK. |