The Electronic Telegraph Tuesday 12 June 2001 Tom Knight COLIN JACKSON has always been a law unto himself and even with retirement looming, it seems nothing will change. Even before Britain's selectors met in Birmingham to choose the team for this month's European Cup in Bremen, Jackson was preparing his reasons for not taking part. As the world champion and world record holder for the 110 metres hurdles, Jackson should be an automatic choice for the team to be announced today. Even allowing for the fact that a near-crippling Achilles injury during the winter almost ended his career prematurely, Jackson's recent form suggests he could still win maximum points for a British men's team defending the title they won in Gateshead last summer. Jackson, however, is working to a different agenda. He believes the selectors should offer the place to one of Britain's younger, up-and-coming hurdlers. Furthermore, in what should be his penultimate season as an international athlete, he has no plans to defend his world title in Edmonton, Canada, in August. And he has no plans to wear the red vest of Wales in next year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester. You might think that an athlete of Jackson's stature would want to bow out with a last shot at a world title or by offering British fans a final chance to appreciate his talent in what will be the biggest multi-sport event seen in this country since the 1948 Olympics. But no. Jackson says he would not be ready in time for Edmonton. Manchester, meanwhile, holds no attraction for him. He is, he said, "a world athlete, not a regional athlete". His targets this year have shifted to the end of the season, the Goodwill Games, an American made-for-television extravaganza, in Brisbane in September and the International Amateur Athletic Federation's grand prix final, which follows a couple of days later in Melbourne. His swansong will come at the European Championships in Munich next year. The reason? A recently signed two-year deal with a Japanese shoe company means he feels "obliged to squeeze in a championship for them". The Welsh were none too happy when Jackson withdrew from the 110m hurdles just before the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur when it was too late for them to call in a replacement. They forfeited a lane and Jackson went to Japan for an end-of-season grand prix meeting. After some 16 years and a hatful of gold medals, many in the sport will overlook Jackson's particular brand of single-mindedness, saying he has done his bit for the sport. Indeed, there were many who genuinely felt for him at the Olympics in Sydney, where he failed to win the only title to have eluded him. Throughout it all, he has remained his own man and always honest in his intentions. In Athens, before last night's grand prix, he summed up his approach perfectly. He said: "As we all know, I do what suits me." If Jackson is the first big name to withdraw from consideration for Britain's European Cup team, recent experience suggests he will not be the last. Last year Britain went into the competition fielding virtually a team of reserves after 14 athletes pulled out through illness, injury or lack of form. The names on the team sheet were still changing when the contest was under way. Darren Campbell, for instance, had to step into the 100m at just 15 minutes notice when first choice Jason Gardener tweaked a hamstring during his warm-up. The team management's initial embarrassment was soon forgotten, however, when the so-called B team, led by Campbell and Larry Achike in the triple jump, scored an unforgettable triumph against the odds. Max Jones, UK Athletics' performance director, went into yesterday's selection meeting confident that he had the commitment of most of the star names. He sees the European Cup as an important benchmark for the sport, an annual test of its overall strength in a match against the best nations in Europe. Athletes don't always see it that way, leaving Jones with the job of getting his best team out. He said: "Do I force athletes to compete when, at the end of the season they will be judged at the World Championships?" The time is approaching when UK Athletics might consider drawing up contracts for athletes, which could be linked to the Lottery funding they receive. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- A couple of days in Athens might, you may think, offer the chance of some sunbathing for the promoters, managers and agents who congregate at grand prix meetings. Quite the reverse. Despite temperatures topping 30C, these guys don't even conduct their meetings around the rooftop pool. For two days, they gathered to make deals on athletes, races and money in a succession of meetings in the air-conditioned coffee lounge of the Divani Caravel Hotel. Centre of attention is invariably Emmanuel Hudson, the New York lawyer who looks after the financial requirements of, among others, Maurice Greene, Olympic 100m champion and world record-holder. But the man they all want to talk to is Ian Stewart, the one-time European and Commonwealth 5,000m champion who puts together the fields for the televised meetings in Britain, widely regarded as among the best organised events in the world. Four years ago, many of these agents and managers were owed money after the financial collapse of the British Athletic Federation. How times have changed. Eamonn Condon www.RunnersGoal.com
