Reading letters recently about the best place to erect the Max Miller statue reminded me of seeing him at the Brighton Hippodrome in the late Fifties.

However, I only refer to his statue to highlight my own point of view. It is about the statue of the great Steve Ovett, 1980 800m Olympic champion and world record holder for the mile at one point.

The statue is on the left-hand side, on the edge of Preston Park, on the way into Brighton on the London road. It is almost hidden from view as if it was placed there as an after-thought.

When I pass that way I often miss it. It is quite low down and to my mind should be in a more populated area where visitors could see and admire it and be reminded that Steve was born in Brighton in 1956. He emigrated to Australia a few years ago.

Because of my own lifelong passion for athletics (I ran the London Marathon in two hours 45 minutes in 1983 at the ripe old age of 43) I met Steve and shook hands with him. He was not only one of the greatest athletes in the world, but he is also a really nice person and one of the best liked among other athletes.

He is also very modest. One of his children came home from school one day and asked him: "Is it true, Dad, that you won an Olympic gold medal?" The teacher had apparently mentioned it, but Steve had not even told his children!

Maybe some serious consideration should be given to moving his statue somewhere more prominent. Brighton should be proud of someone like Steve's achievements and not hide him away in some obscure path where drivers passing by could not hope to see it.

  • Ray O'Donoghue, Coney Furlong, Peacehaven