Jackson flies to year’s best then plans long jump debut …
After falling dramatically on his season’s debut in Doha, 110m hurdles
world record Colin Jackson has come back with a vengeance, clocking the fastest time of
the year - 13.14 - at Chemnitz, Germany on May 22.
World silver medallist Jackson admitted before Doha that he usually expected to open his season with a "13.1" and so it has proved - since his Doha run lasted only until the first hurdle.
In just over a week’s time Jackson will return to Germany but for a different athletic challenge, the long jump.
Jackson has long held an ambition to attack the British record of his Welsh compatriot Lynn Davies (8.23 metres dating back to 1968) but began training seriously only this winter - with the help of former Olympic gold medallist Davies. "I have known Lynn for years and he has always encouraged me to have a go," says Jackson who jumped 7.96w as a junior. "He has been helping me this winter and thinks that, with my speed, I should be able to jump 8.00m almost straight away. I am in no rush though. I would like to jump at the Europeans, Commonwealth Games and the World Cup which are all quite late this season."
But although Jackson’s decision to "double up" in 1998 has the blessing of his long established hurdles coach Malcolm Arnold, there have been some difficulties agreeing on details. "There are three opinions about how many strides I need in my run-up," says Jackson: "I think I need 19 strides to reach the board at optimum speed. Malcolm thinks my posture is better if I take 21 strides but Lynn is pushing for 20 strides - because 20 is a nice round number he can remember …"
