Sports lawyer throws in the legal towel and prepares to run the Olympic gauntlet ;IN-HOUSE: Olympic legal director quits the law to emulate his sporting heroes ;The British Olympic Associations (BOA) sole in-house lawyer, Robert Datnow, is trading his briefs for spikes in a bid to follow British middle-distance heroes Seb Coe and Steve Ovett to Olympic glory. ;Mr Datnow is a former litigator with City giant Linklaters, whose switch to the BOA as legal director saw him attend last months Sydney Olympics as the youngest BOA board member and political liaison officer (see [2000] Gazette, 7 September, 26). ;But the excitement of the games has persuaded the part-time manager of athletics team Thames Valley Harriers, and former 800 and 1,500 metre runner for Berkshire County, to take a break from law and concentrate on his sport full-time. ;Mr Datnow says he will be taking it easy to start with, concentrating on swimming and light running. He will also have to rely on savings from his seven years work to fund his training in the first instance. ;Although competition in the 800 and 1,500 metre disciplines is fierce, Mr Datnow said: Since Ovett, Cram and Elliott weve missed a personality in these sports. Id like to follow in their footsteps and see how far I can take it. ;He added: People ask me if Ill succeed and I say I didnt realise Id do half the things Ive done as a lawyer. Im just 29. Ill do it for a year and see how far I get; if its nowhere, I dont think Ill have lost a huge amount. The 2004 Olympics will be held in Athens. ;The BOA has begun recruiting for Mr Datnows replacement. He said the role has been a unique and challenging experience working on a daily basis with athletes, their governing bodies and Olympic sponsors in the games environment. ;Jeremy Fleming ; ; ;