Jackson right back to the fore

Published on Sunday 21 July 2002 01:00

In a career dominated by maths, by fractions, by movements of the decimal place, there is one number dominating Colin Jackson’s mindset right now: four.

"Most people would have one goal," he says. "But not Colin, oh no. He has to go and set himself four. And I wouldn’t put it past him to do the lot."

The ebullient, confident character talking of himself in the third person is quite some contrast with the bedraggled figure who failed to defend his world championship title in Edmonton last September, when it looked as though a career defined by 12 major championship wins and 25 medals, would come to a hobbling end.

"Last year I had an Achilles," he says. "I thought: ‘My goodness, thank God I never had one before,’ because it was the worst. Every day, I didn’t know what I was doing. After two months of it not getting any better, you start thinking: ‘This is not going to come back. My gift has gone.’ As an athlete, you live off the memories of the great performances. And the trouble with being injured like that is you push yourself too hard to try and recover those memories, which only makes the injury worse."

His return to fitness, he says, was what convinced him that this season should mark the end. "I’m feeling good about retiring because I’m in good shape. When I was injured last year, I just didn’t want to finish because my agenda is to be remembered as a great athlete. That means going out at the top, not being forced out through injury."

What, though, if he breaks a world record during the course of his assault on four titles? Would that not persuade him to have another go? "I won’t be far off the world record," he says. "But it would make it even easier to stop if I did break that record. It depends what you race for. I’ve had this argument with Linford Christie, who said to me: ‘You just do it for the money, the fame, the attention.’ No, I do it to win. And there’ll be a time when I start to slow down. I don’t want to be around to see that."

At the moment, though, he is anything but slow, as his rivals have spotted. "Being a different generation from my opponents gives me a real advantage. There’s a history about you, but there’s also a present. I’ve just run 13.15. The others are thinking, not only has he been there and done that, but the man is still doing it. That’s intimidating. I don’t need to go in for psychological tricks. Without any effort on my part, they’re scared."

There is something else, too, about being able to remain competitive longer. "That feeling," he says, "as I crossed the line in the world championships in ’93, if I could bottle that and give it to every person in the world, what a gift. But the funny thing was, it only lasted a few seconds. Then it was: ‘Ah well, done that, what’s next?’ I don’t think you appreciate how much you’ve achieved until you’re looking back. Which is why I’m so lucky still to be running at 35. I’m looking back, seeing what it is all about, yet still able to go out and do it."

Which, he says, makes running the most fun he could possibly have in this his 35th year. "It’s all about enjoyment. When I retire, I’ll carry on training, but only the stuff I enjoy. What my coach calls the beach work. ‘Oh Colin, I see you’re getting ready for the beach now,’ he says. "That always makes me giggle. God I hate the track, it’s always a chore. No, I’ll still go down the gym, like my dad. It never rains in the gym."

Enjoyment is a constant theme in Jackson’s conversation. He has set out, he says, on his last year as an athlete with that uppermost in his mind. This Commonwealth Games is one he will particularly relish, mainly because it will enable him to run in a Wales vest.

"I love being Welsh," he says. "It’s part of my identity. What’s it give me? My laid-backness. My quiet determination. Athletes are always surprised on the track that when they’ve beaten me I say ‘well done’. What they don’t realise is that the real meaning of those words is: next time I’m going to bloody get you. And I like the tribal thing with sport. It’s definitely increased in the time I’ve been running. And the funny thing is, ten days after being in the Welsh tribe, I’ll be in the British tribe for the European Championships. That’ll confuse my agent."

Is he easily confused, then?

"Yeah, he’s Australian," he says. "The first time he saw me draped in the Welsh flag, he said: ‘What’s that?’ I said: ‘It’s the Welsh flag.’ He said: ‘I thought you were British.’ ‘I am, but I’m Welsh too.’ So he says: ‘What’s the criteria for being Welsh?’ I mean, what can you say to some people? But I love the Commonwealths, because it’s the only chance to represent the Welsh tribe, to run with the old dragon on my chest."

At the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur four years ago, however, Jackson pulled out at the eleventh hour, so late the Welsh team could not prepare a replacement. Was that not a decision which suggests his loyalty to his country is marginally less than his loyalty to himself? "Not really," he says. "I was too tired to make a full-blown commitment, and I’m not someone who can just go through the motions. Especially when I’m running for Wales. The thing is, Colin Jackson is big news in Wales; the whole country is rooting for me so you’ve got to be on top of your game. Basically I’d better win."

So what will go through his mind before his final race at the world indoors next April? Will it be his place in history?

"No, I’ll be thinking about the race because it’ll be something to be won. I’ll be focused, strong and correct. It’s only going to last 7.5 seconds, and for that time, you have to be entirely living for the moment. What I’ll actually be thinking is: ‘Please God, let me get over that first bloody hurdle’."

Taking life one hurdle at a time: it is not a bad philosophy, Colin Jackson’s.

• Did you know?

Joanne Walker is the only Scot ever to have won a Commonwealth Games medal in gymnastics, taking bronze in Victoria, Canada in 1994 in the rhythmic gymnastics category. It was the fourth time that the Games had been held in Canada. New Zealand and Australia have each hosted them three times, with Scotland staging them twice in 1970 and 1986. The only other time they took place in Britain was in London in 1934.