Denise Lewis tells of her unsung athletics hero

Wolverhampton's Denise Lewis is urging - people to nominate the West Midlands' unsung sporting heroes for an award. She tells

about the coach she says helped set her on the path to Olympic glory.

When Denise Lewis returned to Wolverhampton with her Olympic Gold medal 10 years ago, the streets were lined with adoring crowds. Hundreds packed out the civic square, well-wishers waved their Union Jacks. "We love Denise Lewis" said one banner.

But there is one precious moment she will never forget - the moment she spotted Norma Blaine, her childhood team manager from Birchfield Harriers, in the crowd.

"As soon as Norma saw me she just burst into tears," says the former pupil of Tettenhall's Regis School.

"She had seen me grow up, and she was very proud."

As a youngster, Denise would never have imagined her "scary" disciplinarian mentor being reduced to tears. But the heptathlete, who is urging people in the West Midlands to nominate unsung heroes for the BBC's sports awards, never forgot the role that the stern, no-nonsense coach played in making her the athlete she became.

"When you're 12 everyone looks old and scary. She was an authority figure, and I remember thinking, 'I wouldn't want to cross her'."

Not that Norma, now 75, ever needed to raise her voice with the youngster.

"Just a roll of the eye was enough to let you know you had stepped out of line," she says. "You need discipline in sport, and she definitely provided that, but she also has a heart of gold. She was so supportive, she wanted her girls to do well.

"She was always the first to put an arm around you when you didn't do as well as you hoped."

Norma, a former athlete herself who has dedicated 60 years of her life to sport, is modest about her contribution. "I think it stems from if I've got any athletes I'll go to every competition and make sure that they know exactly what they're doing," she says.

"I teach them how to warm up and prepare themselves for competitions, so they're ready to race.

"I've done it because I love it; I get pleasure out of it. It has been my hobby. If I didn't do this I don't know what I would have done."

Denise was 12 years old when she joined Birchfield Harriers, based at Perry Barr's Alexandra Stadium. "I love Wolverhampton and Aldersley was great, but I had reached that time of my life when I needed to go to a bigger club with better facilities.

"When I think about Birchfield Harriers and what it has done for me and many athletes and when I think about women's athletics and how it has moved forward, Norma is the name that keeps coming back as somebody who embodies passion and just gives so much of her time and energy to people."

She says Norma also taught her that sport was not just about your own personal achievement, but about supporting your team-mates.

"When you're part of a club, it's really not very much about the individual, it's about respecting each other and helping each other," says Denise, who put the champagne on ice after her Olympic win to support her room-mate Donna Fraser in her final race.

"It wouldn't be fair to be out celebrating while I can still do something to support people like her," she said at the time.

Now 38, Denise believes it is very important for those who make it to the top in sport to do their bit to support other, younger athletes who are coming through.

"I think, when you have Premiership footballers earning a hundred grand a week, they could give ten grand away and they wouldn't even notice it, but it would make such a difference to the lower levels of the game."

Since retiring from athletics in 2005, Denise has spent much of her time visiting schools, and hopes that she can make a contribution by encouraging the athletes of tomorrow.

She is urging fellow West Midlanders to nominate little-known people from the world of sport who have gone the extra mile to help others for the the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award.

"It is an opportunity for the people who don't have their name in lights all the time to get recognised," she says.

"It's the chance for people like me to say thank you for the things that you do every day."

Nominees should be people who, on a voluntary basis, prepare facilities, roll the pitch, coach the juniors, run local sports leagues or work behind the scenes so that sport can be played and enjoyed.

People have until Friday to make their nominations, from which a shortlist will be drawn up and put before a judging panel.

Once the nomination process has been completed, a shortlist of nominees in each area is chosen by a panel made up of BBC regional and nation's sports staff, local sporting figures and other independent community figures, with a winner being picked by that judging panel.

A winner will be picked for each UK region, and invited to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2010 ceremony at Birmingham's LG Arena on December 19, where the overall Unsung Hero winner will be announced. Forms can be obtained on the website www.bbc.co.uk/sportsunsunghero or by ringing 03700 100800.