Highly respected British track and field expert has been one of the sport's leading writers and commentators for more than half a century

Peter Matthews, one of the most respected voices in athletics and arguably the world’s foremost track and field statistician, has died aged 78.

After a lifetime in the sport where he excelled as a statistician, book editor, stadium announcer, radio and television commentator, historian and club president with Enfield & Haringey, he passed away in his sleep in the early hours of Saturday (Sept 9) after having had a recent history of heart problems.

At his time of death he was long-time editor of the International Athletics Annual and chairman of the NUTS (National Union of Track Statisticians). In addition, he compiled the Athletics International newsletter as a solo venture following the death of his co-editor, Mel Watman, in 2021 and he was part-way through the next issue with his desk covered with notes and results when he died.

Matthews was born on January 6 in 1945 in Fareham in Hampshire and he joined the NUTS in 1966. He was involved in the British Athletics League in its early days in the late 1960s and by 1970 he worked as an announcer at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.

In-stadia announcing became a big part of Matthews’ life as he went on to enjoy this role at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, the 2003 World Indoors in Birmingham, the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg and countless domestic events in the UK.

With a clear and commanding voice together with encyclopaedic knowledge, he attracted plenty of radio and television work too, broadcasting for BBC radio from 1975-85 before switching to ITV from 1985-1996 and then Channel 4, Sky Sports and the IAAF.

But it was as a book editor where his work had possibly the greatest impact and endured over several decades. In 1984 he began a long period as editor of the International Athletics Annual, for example, produced by the worldwide Association of Track & Field Statisticians (ATFS), ahead of its 1985 edition and turned it into a brilliantly in-depth summary of the year’s performances.

Indeed, his editor’s notes in the ATFS annual were a must-read and he was never afraid to voice strong views on the sport. In particular he was exasperated in recent years by the dwindling number of competitive opportunities on home soil for British athletes – especially the loss of the traditional international matches that used to fill the summer – and he was fiercely critical of UKA’s selection strategy for last month’s World Championships in Budapest.

Similarly, he edited the British Athletics Annual from 1980 onwards before it became more of a joint operation in recent years. As the internet began to take its effect, these statistical books became less popular but they were still being published when he died.

Outside athletics he was editor of the Guinness Book of Records from 1991-95 after previously having worked as a sports editor at the famous publication.

Perhaps most impressively of all was his compilation of the UK merit rankings. He began putting these together in painstaking style in 1967 and more than half a century later he was still publishing them in the AW magazine or website at the close of last year.

While his knowledge and influence of the sport was truly international, he was deeply involved with the sport at grassroots level in the UK and served as president of Borough of Enfield Harriers and, following a merger, Enfield and Haringey AC for 25 years. In recent years he was also president of the UK Counties Athletics Union too.

Such achievements led to him being awarded the prestigious Ron Pickering Memorial Award for Services to Athletics in 2009 whereas in 2018 he was inducted into the England Athletics hall of fame.

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