THERE are plans to honour inspirational coach John MacDonald with a memorial at Pitreavie Athletics Centre.

A fund was set up in the wake of the 89-year-old's death with contributions and tributes from many of the athletes he worked with.

That includes Ian Mackie, the Dunfermline sprinter who ran for Great Britain in the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000.

He said John had helped "make my dreams come true" and pledged money for a permanent reminder of the Pitreavie Amateur Athletics Club coach.

Darren Watt, who works at Pitreavie for Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, set up the GoFundMe page for a John MacDonald Memorial Fund.

He said: "John was a truly inspirational athletics coach.

"He guided many athletes to honours at a local, national and Olympic level.

"It wasn't just on the track John inspired people. He was a perfect gentleman with a positive outlook that brought the best out of people."

He added: "The word legend is used all too often but on this occasion I'm sure you'll all agree John is a legend and deserves to be recognised as such.

"I believe he should have a memorial at Pitreavie Athletics Centre so we can remember him daily, have a constant reminder of the lessons he taught and the inspiration he gave."

John died in Fort William on Saturday July 16 while on a short family break.

His long association with the Pitreavie club spanned decades and he won Dunfermline and West Fife Sports Council's Coach of the Year award in February.

John memorably assisted his daughter Linsey to a 4x400m bronze medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow and was still coaching young stars of the future, including 400m hurdler Jack Lawrie.

He also coached Dunfermline sprinter Ian Mackie who reached the 100m semi-finals in Atlanta in 1996 and chased more glory at the Olympics in Sydney four years later.

Paul Allan, president of Pitreavie AAC, said: "We're obviously happy with the idea for a memorial fund and it's nice to see it came from someone at Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, as opposed to someone from the club, which emphasises how much John touched other people's lives.

"He inspired a lot of people, myself included. I was one of his athletes originally and then he mentored me as a coach so he did a lot for me personally."

Contributors to the fund have suggested that the money could be spent on a plaque, bench, trophy or a fund for young athletes.

Another idea is to name one of the stands at the Pitreavie stadium after John.

Mr Allan said: "It would certainly be something if they did that!

"There are a lot of ideas about what we should do in honour of John as he did so much at Pitreavie, it was like a second home to him.

"What we do will depend on how much money is raised, we'll likely form a group to look at the various ideas."

The funeral service for John, who is survived by daughters Linsey and Rhona, son John and his grandchildren and great grandchildren, will take place at Townhill Parish Church today at 1.45pm.

You can find the donation page at gofundme.com/2fnnqpg