Colin Jackson celebrates setting a new world record in the 110m hurdles at the World Championships in Stuttgart. Photo: Getty Images/Mike Powell
“I remember one night in 1994 at China White's restaurant,” recalls Colin Jackson. “It was a party after the Prince concert. My sister came up to me and said, «You know who you've been talking to all night.» I said, «That's Vanessa Paradis, isn't it?» She shook her head, and then I understood. «Oh yes, it's Kate Moss!»
Virtual teetotaler, Jackson is not a frequenter of nightclubs. However, with this anecdote, he emphasized the fashion of British athletics in the early 1990s.
According to Jackson, it was «the era of Cool Britannia, Oasis vs Blur». And it was also a time when athletics stood at the top of our sporting hierarchy, just like cricket in the 1980s and football throughout the 21st century. Between 1991 and 1995, three different athletes — Liz McColgan, Linford Christie and Jonathan Edwards — competed for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
Everyone knows that athletics has fallen in the rankings over the past 30 years. The British squad of 55 heading to Budapest for the World Cup next week will be one of the smallest ever fielded. However, many greybeards remember the glory days, in particular the World Championships in Stuttgart. In August 1993, a competition was held in Stuttgart, where Jackson finally revealed his talent, breaking the 110 meters hurdles in 12.91 seconds, which became a world record that would last 13 years.
Colin Jackson (right) crosses the finish line to win the 110m hurdles. Photo: Getty Images/Gray Mortimore
And Jackson wasn't the only one. Sally Gunnell and Linford Christie — other members of the then «big three» of British athletics — also had the best results of their careers. As a result, Great Britain finished tied for fourth in the medal table. (Of the countries ahead of them, the US and China were the demographic giants, while Russia, which came in third, was hardly known for fair play.)
Was this the height of Britain's sporting fortunes? Hard to say. The late 70s and early 80s were also booming times, thanks to Daley Thompson and various middle distance champions. Super Saturday at the London Olympics also has its adherents. But Stuttgart was certainly the high point, especially for the so-called «golden generation».
“For me, Stuttgart was actually more than winning the Olympics last year,” Gunnell told Telegraph Sport. “That was the moment when my name became a household name because I was a bit in the shadow of Linford in Barcelona in 1992. To break the world record, that was the highest achievement. And it was a special week in every way. We were accommodated in the simplest of quarters, wooden army barracks with inch-thick mattresses. It wasn't glamorous, but it meant that everyone hung out together and supported each other. It's easy to knock on people's doors and talk, and at the Olympics you're all so scattered that it's hard to find anyone.»
Jackson also remembers the high spirits on the team. In addition to the big three, 10 other British athletes made the podium, including such outstanding athletes as John Regis (200m), Mick Hill (javelin), Tony Jarrett (110m hurdles), Steve Smith (high jump) and future triple athlete. — jumping legend Jonathan Edwards.
“We spent so many hours just playing cards,” recalls Jackson. “There was such a sense of chatter and camaraderie. And while there were superstars — and colleagues — no one on the team had a sense of arrogance. We were all one real happy family, including the management of the team.”
Jackson is being a little disingenuous here? There must always be some tension in the national team, even if it is only related to the selection of the relay team. Christy, the captain of the men's team, is also not an easy-going person. As stated in his autobiography, Be Honest With You, Christie always harbored a «personal grudge against [then National Coaching Director] Frank Dick.»
What is certain is that the «Big Three» consisted of a gang within a gang, offering mutual support and optimism. On the eve of her final, Gunnell was in a bad mood, worrying about a bad cold she caught during a training camp in nearby Zofingen. It was Jackson and Christy who sat with her at dinner and showered her with positivity.
"big three& #34;, including British team captains Sally Gunnell (left) and Linford Christie, supported each other in their efforts to win the gold. Photo: Getty Images/Gray Mortimore
“They were the ones who understood,” Gunnell recalled. “We have been building this relationship for two or three years. I remember thinking that it was just my nerves before the race. When Linford said that he was the same, it calmed me, because I only saw him as such a big strong guy.
“Linford and I were team captains in Stuttgart, but agreed to stay in the country despite the squalid housing, although many of our colleagues from other countries settled in luxury hotels and drove limousines to the track. We wanted to set an example. I think the fact that the whole team sat around talking all week about all sorts of nonsense meant that everyone felt turned on, everyone fed off the noise.
«Linford had enemies, but he was very loyal the people he was. Near. When we sat at breakfast or dinner, he liked to shock us. He made ridiculous statements designed to create «don't be stupid» arguments or scenarios. But he also had a real heart.”
Not to mention the rare twist of speed. In the 100m final, Christie was delighted to beat both Carl Lewis and Andre Cason. Both of these rivals taunted him during the preparation for Stuttgart, claiming that he won the Olympic Games in Barcelona only because the Americans were not there.
Then it was Gunnell's turn. Two lanes behind her great rival Sandra Farmer-Patrick, she shrugged off the traffic jams and made the race of her life. “It was only halfway to the back straight that I realized that I had broken the world record,” she explained. “I rode the longest lap of honor. I learned a lot at the Olympics because when I won in Barcelona I couldn't take it all. I thought, «This time I'm going to milk it.» I continued to find acquaintances in the crowd. I saw John [Bigg, her husband] and gave him a big hug.»
Sally Gunnell enjoys her victory lap after winning gold in the 400m hurdles… Photo: Getty Images/Mike Powell she broke the world record with a time of 52.74 seconds. Photo: Getty Images/Bob Martin
So, Jackson. Unlike his cronies, his Olympic experience was filled with arrogance and retribution. Arriving in Barcelona in «exceptional shape», he felt confident enough to send home his own personal physiotherapist. He then didn't warm up for the second run, causing disaster with a clipped barrier and a torn oblique.
Disappointed with his seventh-place finish in Barcelona, Jackson returned home and stepped up his training efforts alongside Christy and new Olympic hurdler Mark McCoy of Canada. Another failure in Stuttgart could have killed him.
«I remember getting there and thinking to myself, 'Well, thank God Linford and Sally are ahead of me,'» Jackson says now. «As an athlete, you don't want to be the first person and you really don't want to be the last person, especially when everyone else has been successful.
«When I fell The morning after the Linford final on the wall in the house GB hung a large sign that read «Congratulations Linford, new European record of 9.87!» And then, after a couple of days, I went down the stairs and saw: “Congratulations.” Sally, a new world record of 52.74!» I thought, «Then no pressure!»
“Going to the final, I felt physically sick. I made two block starts that were absolutely disastrous, crashing into the first obstacle. Coming back, I thought, «I won't do another one.» I'll just leave that to the gods. I've done it so many times.» My chest was thumping as I returned to the blocks. There was complete silence in the stadium. And then when the gun went off and I took the first two steps, it was very strange, because I just knew that I had won the race.
“Crossed the line. I was just happy with the gold. I didn't think it was a world record. As I walked the lap of honor, the first thing that came to my mind was, «Why didn't I do this last year?» But then I came back to the GB house, and there on the wall hangs: Congratulations, Colin Jackson! I just giggled. There was a huge sense of relief. And that ended up being my big break. I call it the victory that gave me myself.»
Colin Jackson celebrates breaking the world record in the 110m hurdles . Photo: Getty Images/Gray Mortimore
Gunnell has a good story about the next home match after Stuttgart, which was played in Sheffield. She, Jackson and Christy joined forces and ordered matching gold swimsuits to commemorate their world titles. But when it came to the race, “Colin and Linford looked amazing with their dark skin. While I looked like I had a light tan and was naked.”
The history of the «big three» Stuttgart has an unexpected postscript. Christy, who did not respond to interview requests, admitted that he and Jackson were «like brothers» at the time. So close that in 1993 they formed a management agency together called Nuff Respect. Nevertheless, the cooperation proved that business and friendship can be difficult neighbors.
Only Christy and Jackson knew for sure what happened over the next four years, but Jackson had previously written that «he wasn't in reality… the business for him was all about being selfish and becoming a superstar.» By 1997, the relationship had soured that Jackson was on the verge of doing something far more stupid than sending his physical therapist home from Barcelona.
After driving to the Nuff Respect office in London and finding that Christy was missing, Jackson called his sister and said that he had a pack of matches in his hand and was preparing to set fire to the building. How bleak the turn of events would be. Fortunately, however, he did not withstand the threat. And now, a quarter of a century later, he and Christy have pretty much reconciled after years of not having contact.
“My mind was crazy that day,” Jackson now recalls. “I would describe myself as furious to that extent. When you are in that state, anything can happen. But I truly feel like a spirit sent me to say, «Calm down, young man.»
«I think Linford and I are lucky that we've been through a lot earlier, which leaves you with positive memories. You catch yourself remembering some crazy thing, for example, at a meeting in Brussels. You start giggling about it and it brings you back to reality.
“Today, Linford and I work closely again because we both do things for Puma. I see John Regis and Tony Jarrett in this place and Sal and I chat a lot too. When people see us together, they must think that we are six years old, because we instantly return to our teenage years. We laugh, we scream, we make a lot of noise. People must be thinking, «Why don't they just shut up?»
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