Cram remains chairman of COCO, an organisation which currently provides education to children living in poor, remote parts of East Africa.

[5] In 2008, Cram was appointed Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, replacing Lord Puttnam,[6][7] and in 2009 was elected as President of Jarrow & Hebburn Athletics Club.

The race had been marked as a run-off between Cram and Scottish miler Graham Williamson for the final place (a selection decision which was severely criticised by Ovett in his 1984 autobiography).

Cram, aged 19, reached the final of the 1,500 m at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, in which Ovett and Sebastian Coe famously vied for the gold medal.

[11] Capitalising on his Olympic experience, Cram made his major breakthrough in 1982, a year in which Coe and Ovett were largely absent with injuries.

Ovett became trapped in the pack, ultimately finishing fourth, while Cram outkicked Steve Scott and Aouita in the last 200 metres.

"[12] In 1984, Cram's season was severely hampered by injury, although he recovered sufficiently to win silver in the 1,500 m at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, behind defending champion Coe.

However, during the 1985 season he said (and indeed demonstrated) that he could win from any position and happily ran near the back of world class fields before unleashing his kick, often with a lap or so to go.

This tactic, his elegant, high stepping action and his effortless acceleration made him one of the most exciting middle distance runners to watch.

Having previously been able to win races from any position and at any pace, he was now lacking confidence in his finishing speed, an area in which he had fallen behind some of his main rivals.

The injury affected his performance at the games and he was eliminated in the heats of the 800 m. He recovered sufficiently to reach the final of the 1,500 m, but could finish only fourth in a close race surprisingly won by Peter Rono.

Cram has also presented as part of four Winter Olympics - Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 - having replaced Dougie Donnelly as the main Curling commentator in 2010.

In August 2014, Cram was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.