Old
campaigner Jackson not yet ready for final bow
Sean Wallace-Jones for the IAAF
28 February 2002 - Vienna, Austria - Colin Jackson may have celebrated his 35th birthday ten days ago, but the Welshman still has all the enthusiasm of his younger colleagues as he speaks of his aspirations for this weekend's European Indoor Championships.
For the first time since 1999 Jackson has been free of injuries: "It has been great, I have had no problems at all since October," he said this morning. That fact, coupled with his best performance in three years with a world leading 7.44 in the 60 metre hurdles at the recent Norwich Union Indoor Grand Prix meeting, is all he needs to make him look forward to a full season of competition in 2002 and even a carry on through to the World Indoor Championships in March 2003 in Birmingham.
"Then that is definitely the end of athletics for me," says Jackson, who had already muted retirement at the end of 2000 but found that the draw of the track was too much for him to make the break then.
"This time it is for real," he insists. I am starting a new activity in April and there is no turning back from that.
"But for now I want to go out in style. I thought that I was going to retire at the end of 2000 and then I had such a lousy season that I decided I could not stop.
"I have had a great career and there was no way I wanted it to end on a downturn (he came 5th in the 110m hurdles in the Sydney Olympics). Now I am feeling really good and looking forward to what will hopefully be an injury-free year."
Is it hard for this old campaigner to continue training and competing?
"You know, when I get out there and start doing it, it feels just the same as when I was 25. My training routine is a little lighter these days. At 35 you do not go and do ten days solid like I used to. I wil maybe do 6 and then take four days off, but otherwise nothing feels any different."