Stever Ovett single-handedly put Brighton on the world map more than three decades ago.

Now the club Ovett helped set up is threatening to emulate the dizzying heights he achieved during the 1970s and 1980s.

Charlie Grice is the most prominent of an exciting wave of middle distance athletes coming through the ranks at Brighton Phoenix, the club Ovett founded together with Matt Patterson in 1981, the year after he had won 800m gold at the Moscow Olympics.

But Grice, who finished fifth in the 1,500m at the European Indoor Championships last weekend, is not the only prospect catching the eye down at Phoenix’s training base at Withdean Stadium.

Robbie Fitzgibbon and Spencer Thomas are both top of the UK under-20 rankings for 1,500m and 800m respectively, while behind them Archie Davis is second in both the 800m and 1,500m standings at under-17 level.

To have four athletes from the same club in the top three of their age group over two or four laps is incredible and testament to the work coach Jon Bigg has put in to bring back the kind of success Phoenix enjoyed during Ovett’s hey-day.

If everything goes to plan all four should be competing on the international stage this summer with Grice targeting the World Championships, Fitzgibbon and Thomas aiming for the European Junior Championships and Davis a good bet to compete at the World Youth Championships.

Bigg said: “It’s really exciting but it’s just a start. It would be brilliant to put Brighton back on the map at world level.

“The long-term goal is to put together an elite squad down here. We want to take it one step further and get back to the level Steve was at. There is no reason why we can’t compete with the Africans.”

That is an ambitious aim when you consider that only one non-African has claimed gold at the Olympics since Seb Coe’s triumph in Los Angeles in 1984 and five of the eight 800m champions since Ovett ruled the world have been non-European.

But the building blocks are certainly in place at Phoenix with the club’s exciting quartet pushing each other to new heights every week in training, backed up by some of the best coaching support you will find in the country.

Bigg, who began training with Ovett at the age of 16, added: “It looks like it has come out of nowhere but it has taken about 15 years to get to this position. The group we have at the moment have been developing for quite a while now.

“You need people to be front-runners who go out and achieve things to inspire others. First there was Tim Bayley (UK indoor champion in 2010) who inspired Dan Stepney who in turn inspired Charlie who is now inspiring the next group coming through.

“Of course it helps that someone like Steve is associated with the club. I remember from when I was running for Phoenix and training with Steve that when you turned up and put your Phoenix vest on people e x p e c t e d that you were going to be difficult to beat and we are slowly getting back to that level which is nice.

“I am incredibly proud we have four athletes at the top of the rankings but that is not why I do it. I’m not doing it for myself, I’m doing it for these guys and it is just great to see them progress.

“When I coach up in Loughborough they ask me to bring my group up from Brighton because it is so strong.

“When you have a group of good runners it tends to pull everybody along and push up the standard even further.

“We’ve had guys come over from Switzerland and Germany to train with us as they know we have got a strong group and that helps lift the standard.

“Some people get caught up about the club but it is not really about Phoenix being strong, it is about getting athletes from everywhere and getting them to train together so they improve.”

Phoenix’s fortunes faltered after the success of the 80s which, on top of Ovett’s exploits also saw Mark Rowland win bronze in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 1988 Olympics and silver at the 1990 European Championships while Johan Baokes finished third at the World Junior Championships in 1986.

The departure of Ovett when he moved to Australia at the end of his running career left the club fighting to regain its identity but through the hard work of people like Bigg and Paul Collicutt, who stepped down as chairman after 11 years on Wednesday, they have put it back on track.

Bigg added: “Steve and Matt (Patterson) had such a great set-up and when they left the club lost its edge a bit. Paul Collicutt was the one who stuck the club back together.

“There will come a point when I have to step aside and I don’t want there to be a gaping hole like there was when Matt and Steve left so we are trying to nurture young coaching staff as well.

“Joel (Kidger) is overseeing Archie and Dan (Stepney) is doing work on the strength and conditioning side.”