Newyddion
Peter Walton Obituary
09/10/2026 00:00, I Mewn Blog /
Neath Harriers AC are saddened to announce the passing of former coach and Club Chairman Peter Walton.
Peter Walton joined Neath Harriers in the 1990s at roughly the same time as the track was laid at Cwrt Herbert. The new track had led to an increase in membership and there was a need for a team of coaches to cater for them. Peter came along at just the right time. He became one of the club's senior coaches, concentrating on the sprints and hurdles.
Peter was comfortable working with performance athletes and a main highlight in his variety of Athletics roles was being involved with the Wales Senior Athletics Team, which included overseas trips. He also coached Dai Greene in the early years of his highly successful athletics career.
Equally he enjoyed working on the development side of the sport. Nurturing and shaping young athletes, many of the athletes he coached went on to win Welsh Championships and/or represent Wales in international or representative matches. Welsh Athletics’ Andrew Jenkins speaks fondly of his time spent with Peter as an athlete involved in that setup. He continued coaching for over 25 years and later branched out to coach at regional level. He also became involved in team management at regional and national level, travelling all over the country with teams. Latterly he had been heavily involved with Welsh Schools at SIAB events, working with Sprints and relays.
He took on the role of club chairman at Neath and was very active in all of the club's activities including applying for equipment grants and staging social events such as the annual presentation evening and the 50-year anniversary event. He made all the travel arrangements for away matches.
In 2007 he was presented with the Welsh Athletics Meritorious Award for services to the sport followed in 2017 by the Welsh Athletics Award of Honour. A tireless worker at club, regional and national level he made an outstanding contribution to the sport.
The thoughts of all at Neath Harriers and the West Wales Region are with Peter's family at this sad time. Funeral arrangements to follow.
Alan Currie
Hedydd Davies
Steve Jones