Wife of former Team GB runner feared she was 'going to end up dead' after he 'tried to suffocate her with a pillow', court hears

By JAMES TOZER, NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT and ANDY RUSSELL Published: 17:53, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 17:58, 8 June 2026 A former Olympic athlete held a pillow over his doctor wife's face until she felt like she couldn't breathe, a court heard today. The incident during a family holiday in the Lake District was the 'final straw' after eight years of 'cruel' behaviour by Curtis Robb, 54, who ran for Team GB at the Barcelona and Atlanta Games before qualifying as a surgeon, a jury was told. It made his wife Sarah realise that she was 'going to end up dead' if she didn't leave him, the court heard. Previous outbursts included grabbing her by the neck and pushing her into a pair of French windows, as well as shoving her into a banister and making her fear she would be thrown down the stairs, it was alleged. When he was violent, Ms Robb - with whom he has three children - learnt 'not to react', Chester Crown Court was told. But she finally went to police after the incident during the Easter break in 2023, allegedly sparked by an argument about him disturbing her by cleaning his teeth after she had gone to bed early. 'He came over to the bed and kicked out at her,' prosecutor Paulinus Barnes told the court. 'He pulled a pillow from behind her and held it over her face.  Curtis Robb, 54, (pictured arriving at court today) is accused of eight years of controlling and coercive behaviour against his wife and suffocating during a family holiday in the Lake District Curtis Robb (pictured running for Team GB at the 1995 World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden) competed at two Olympics 'She does not know how long he held it there but she remembers that she was starting to feel like she could not breathe. 'He also punched her on the arm and threw things at her from a bedside table.' Afterwards Ms Robb told police: 'It was rock bottom because I knew then I had to leave.  'If I didn't leave, I was going to end up dead.' A former British champion, Robb's best Olympics result was in Barcelona, where he finished sixth in the 800m final. In 1996 Robb was back competing at the Olympics, but was eliminated in the semi-final, later qualifying as a doctor.  He is accused of being 'cruel and physically violent' towards his GP wife during their 22-year marriage, allegedly subjecting her to controlling and coercive behaviour between December 2015 and August 2023. During arguments he allegedly called her a 'manipulative b***h' and 'neurotic'. Curtis Robb pictured at the World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart in 1993 His behaviour caused her 'to fear that violence would be used toward her', Mr Barnes said. Mr Barnes told jurors that 'on the surface they seemed like a happy and successful couple'. 'But there was a dark side to their relationship.  'Over many, many years, Curtis Robb was not only cruel to his wife, he was physically violent. 'Matters came to a head during a family holiday at Easter 2023, and in October that year, Sarah Robb told police what had been happening to her. 'She spoke at length about the cruelty she had experienced - the control, the violence, the name calling.  'The assault at Easter was when she hit rock bottom, but it was also a moment of clarity. 'During previous incidents when he had been violent to her, he had managed to get her to believe it had been her fault.  'That she had brought it on herself, that she deserved it, that he had been acting in self defence, that no one would believe her, that it was his word against hers. 'But on this occasion she knew what he had done was a completely unprovoked attack and that it was not her fault.  'She knew from that point she would have to leave him. 'She described a history of being assaulted throughout their marriage.' Mr Barnes said Sarah described how when the couple were living in the West Midlands, Robb had grabbed her round the neck, pushing her into the French windows. He said the incident occurred when he had refused to discuss something she had wanted to talk about.  He had told her 'I'll talk about it tomorrow' and had accused her of being hysterical, jurors heard. She described another incident when she was pregnant with the couple's third child and they had an argument over who was cooking lunch. She ended up doing the cooking and he told her that she was doing it wrong, the court heard. Mr Barnes said: 'She was standing at the stove, stirring the pan and holding their two year old daughter when Robb thumped her, quite hard, on the arm. His daughter burst into tears. 'Sarah asked what the hell he was doing and his reply was: "You hit me first".' Mr Barnes said there was another assault in the same pregnancy when the he was driving and she asked him something which led to him punching her in the arm and side. A fourth incident in May 2020 happened when she threw a bowl of cereal at him during an argument. He followed her into the kitchen, backed her into a corner and began kicking her leg, the prosecutor said. A fifth alleged incident happened when he grabbed her and shoved her through the bedroom door and back into the banister. 'She thought she was going to go over the banister and down the stairs,' Mr Barnes told the jury. 'She was terrified. As she says, "I thought I was going to die". 'She described the sorts of things he would say to her throughout the marriage – calling her a manipulative b***h, neurotic, saying she couldn't cope as a mother, belittling her role as a GP. 'Over the years she learnt not to react, to say nothing, to not show any emotions.' Mr Barnes said the 'final straw' was during the 2023 Lake District break when they shared a room, although they would normally sleep separately. Robb was interviewed about the allegations and denied being controlling or coercive. He claimed that she had been the threatening and controlling one, never letting him take the children out on his own. Robb accepted there had been an argument on the Easter holiday.  He said he had thrown a pillow at his wife but denied holding it over her face and suffocating her. Robb of Northwich, Cheshire, denies one charge of controlling and coercive behaviour and one charge of suffocation. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.