By Mathew Davies,Tom Sunderland

Copyright walesonline

The adage that opposites attract doesn’t quite apply to British athletics legend Steve Cram and his partner Allison Curbishley, who share a remarkably similar career trajectory. Cram will be back on our BBC screens over the next week or so as he once again takes a prominent role in coverage of the World Athletics Championships, which get under way in Tokyo this weekend. Olympic silver medallist Cram, 64, was a formidable competitor in middle-distance running at three Summer Games. However, a series of unfortunate injuries in the 1980s thwarted his dreams of securing gold. Since retiring from competitive athletics in 1994, the former 1,500-metre specialist has transitioned into coaching and broadcasting, providing commentary at numerous Olympic Games. His partner Curbishley – not related to football manager Alan – has followed a strikingly similar path after her own significant achievements on the track. Curbishley, 49, excelled in shorter distances and was a rising star in the 400m. She made her Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Games, competing in the 4x400m relay, and returned four years later in Sydney for both the relay and individual 400m events. She clinched 400m gold at the Under-23 European Championships in 1997, where she also contributed to the team’s victory in the 4x400m relay. However, she was unable to replicate these successes at the senior level. She continued to represent Great Britain at the European Championships the following year, aiding her country in securing a bronze in the relay. In the same year, the Durham native represented Scotland and won silver in the individual 400m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Despite demonstrating considerable potential in netball and hockey, Curbishley ultimately selected athletics as her primary pursuit. Nevertheless, she chose to step away from competition in 2003, at the age of 27, owing to a persistent knee problem that necessitated several operations. Cram was formerly wed to ex-spouse Karen and shares two children, Josie and Marcus, with his previous partner. The pair separated in 2006. Following his marriage breakdown, Cram and Curbishley relocated together and have remained in Northumberland ever since. They carry on working for the BBC across both television and radio platforms and have founded their own media and events enterprise. He endured family heartbreak in 2001 when his younger sibling Kevin died in a fall while out running in Cardiff , at just 39 years old. He remained unaware of his brother’s passing until two days afterwards, though, as his remains could not be recognised straight away. “Kevin sadly died in a freak accident on a May evening back in 2001,” he said during a 2009 radio interview with fellow athlete and friend Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. “He apparently tripped up – no-one saw it happen. He was in Roath, where he lived, heading up towards the park. He fell, fractured his skull and died on the spot. “As tragic as anything like that is going to be for any family, what made it worse was we weren’t notified for nearly two days. His girlfriend was away and he was meant to be away himself. He ran a bookshop and would go away on buying trips – he was meant to be on a three-day trip. But he’d gone back a day early and gone for a run that night. “It was a warm evening so he was just wearing shorts and vest and no identification,” he added. “He was 500 yards from his home but, as in big cities everywhere, he might as well have been 500 miles away. So they had no way of identifying him.” Cram discovered his brother’s death while at a dinner with his BBC colleagues, including Gabby Logan, who had lost her brother when he collapsed and died aged just 15. The Welsh presenter consoled the runner and guided him through his bereavement, having endured a similar ordeal herself. “Her 15-year-old brother Daniel collapsed and died in 1992 from a rare heart condition no-one even knew he had, when he was having a kickabout with their father, so she understood exactly how I felt,” said Cram. After Kevin’s death, Cram partnered with Reebok to create the CramAlert ID wristband. Following his brother not being identified for days after his death, the technology in the wristband enables people to be identified swiftly thanks to a call centre which stores personal information.