OLYMPIC medallists Tessa Sanderson and Peter Elliott were among those mourning the loss of Stow-born athletics coach Wilf Paish.

Wilf (above) coached Great Britain at eight Olympics between 1964 and 1992 and helped South Africa win two medals at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The dedicated and well respected coach was awarded an MBE for services to athletics in 2005 and continued coaching until two weeks before he lost his brave battle against a long illness.

Wilf played rugby and cricket for Stow as a teenager and hockey for Moreton before leaving the area in the 1950's to pursue a career as a sports coach, first in the PTI department of the RAF as part of his National Service.

The next step on the ladder to Olympic glory took him to Ilford where he became Head of PE at Wansted High School, replacing fellow athletics coach and BBC commentator Ron Pickering.

In 1964 he went on to become National Coach to the North of England and moved to Leeds where he stayed for the rest of his life, devoting his time to coaching sport.

Wilf was a fitness coach at Halifax and Keighley Rugby League clubs, helping Halifax win the Challenge Cup in 1987, and also at Leeds United FC when they won the old Division One title in 1992.

This was followed by a spell as fitness coach for Yorkshire Cricket Club and Wilf was instrumental in the development of England stars Darren Gough and Chris Silverwood as fast bowlers.

Wilf gave up his time regularly to provide coaching sessions in schools, notably at Dean Close in Cheltenham and Haringey cricket school, helping the development of ex-Gloucestershire captain Mark Alleyne.

But he will ultimately be remembered for his success at the Olympics where he helped Sanderson to javelin gold at Los Angeles and Elliott to a 1500m silver at Seoul in 1988.

Sanderson paid tribute to his achievements at the funeral, saying she had much to thank him for.

She said: "During the time that I was with Wilf there was so much wealth of experience and fun.

"He cared for me and nurtured me like he did for his own children.

"We won the gold medal together. We conquered the world and achieved our dream - a dream we had worked and fought for years."

Wilf coached over 100 British international athletes in his career, including javelin thrower Mick Hill who won three Commonwealth silvers and a bronze medal, but his Olympic career came to an end at the Atlanta Games.

As coach with South Africa, Wilf helped Josiah Thugwana win a marathon gold and Hezekiel Sepeng pick up an 800m silver, ending his Olympic career on a high.

His dedication was further in evidence when he used his state pension to voluntarily teach young athletes at the Carnegie Sports Centre twice a week and he went on to write several coaching manuals to pass on his knowledge and expertise.

He is survived by wife Margaret, two daughters and twin granddaughters.