It is often the case when momentous moments arrive that thoughts immediately turn to those who are no longer present to witness them.
For Sam Reardon, that was the case last summer. The moment was his first Olympic medal, a remarkable achievement for an athlete who was not named in the original Paris-bound squad. And the person missing was his mum.
The 21-year-old is a proud and self-confessed ‘mummy’s boy’. He shared a tight, unbreakable bond with his mother, Marilyn, who shaped the warm and engaging personality of one of the country’s most promising middle distance prospects.
Marilyn rarely, if ever, missed a track meet when her son was growing up in Bromley, Sam having been inspired by watching Super Saturday with his family as an eight-year-old.
That lit a spark in the youngster and the desire continued to burn, with Marilyn encouraging her youngest son every step of the way.
“It’s something we both dreamed about together,” Sam said. “I remember watching London 2012 with her screaming at the TV cheering on Mo (Farah), Jess (Ennis-Hill) and Greg (Rutherford).
“There are photos of me replicating the Mo-bot and I was saying ‘I want to be there one day’.
“She was so supportive of me and believed I could do that. She said she couldn’t wait to see me on that podium singing the national anthem.
“She never doubted it and having that belief growing up was massive. Having someone you could say anything to and she’d say ‘it’s possible’ was huge and I still carry that with me to this day.”
That relentlessly positive attitude was one Marilyn maintained in the toughest circumstances imaginable.
In April 2018, after becoming fatigued and unable to walk properly, she was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with a brain tumour. In March 2019, she died aged 52.
“She is the biggest inspiration I’ve ever had in my life,” Sam said. “The way she lived her life, especially when she got ill, she was always positive.
“When we were struggling, she was the one looking after us even though she was the one going through it.
“She raved about us and our sporting achievements growing up all the time, she was such a loved figure. At her funeral, there were people billowing out the church because of how many turned up.”
Determined to do what he can to prevent others suffering in a similar manner, Sam has recently taken on a role as an ambassador for the Brain Tumour Research charity in his bid to raise awareness of a disease that turned both his and his family’s worlds upside down.
“It’s one of the biggest cancer-causing deaths and it can affect anyone at all ages,” he said.
“We weren’t really aware of it until it rocked us how it did. We have done a lot of charity events with them and I’m working on being an ambassador for them.
“I’m really passionate about working with them in the future through things like charity football matches and half marathons, which my family did this year.
“I want to be part of raising awareness for that as it’s so close to my heart.”
On the track, Sam is bidding to build on a breakthrough 2024 which saw him bounce back from injury to storm to 400m Diamond League glory on the same track as Farah, Ennis-Hill and Rutherford had inspired him 12 years earlier.
That performance put him in pole position to seize an unexpected Olympic opportunity when Charlie Carvell withdrew through injury, with Sam stepping into the mixed 4x400m and men’s 4x400m relay teams.
Two ‘surreal’ bronze medals followed and though there were 80,000 people inside the Stade de France on each occasion, including several members of the large and close-knit Reardon family, he could not prevent his mind focusing on the one who wasn’t.
“Not having mum there on the biggest occasions is really hard,” he said. “Growing up, she was the loudest person there cheering me on, I could hear her from the other side of the track.
“It’s tough when you both had that dream and one of you can’t be there to see it. It really is a gut punch.
“But I know she’ll be screaming heaven down every time I compete and to see how much it means to her brothers and sisters is really special.
“Seeing her smile in all of theirs in Paris meant so much to me. She will always be my biggest inspiration and if I can become half the person she was, I will be successful.
“When I’m struggling, I remember I’m not just doing it for me, I’m doing it for her.”
Sportsbeat 2025