You should strive to achieve that type of greatness and that itself keeps you focused and motivated,” explained Jackson
Colin Jackson; (right) India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. Pic/Getty Images
Two-time world champion hurdler Colin Jackson, 56, has no regrets over an Olympic gold medal missing from his trophy cabinet despite dominating the 100m hurdles scene in the 1990s. He believes that if something is not meant to be, it won’t happen—as simple as that.
“When you are a two-time world champion and world record holder, and you’ve had the longevity in the career that I’ve had, people do tend to ask why I didn’t win an Olympic gold. And I say, sometimes it just doesn’t fit. In my first Olympics [Seoul 1988], I won the silver because I was good enough for the silver, but in my second Games [Barcelona 1992], I was favourite to win gold, but I got injured. The same happened in 1996 and again in 2000. So, it wasn’t meant to be,” Welshman Jackson told mid-day over the phone from Kolkata in his capacity as Event Ambassador for Sunday’s Tata Steel Kolkata 25k.
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India are blessed to have a world-class athlete in javelin super star Neeraj Chopra, said Jackson. But having won the World Championships and the Olympic gold medal, defending that gold at Paris 2024 will be key, he insisted.
So what does it take to achieve that dominance or consistency at the highest level?
“As a world-class athlete, if you have an aura about you then it makes competition easier. When you walk into the stadium and people look at you and feel that they can’t beat you, that’s a great feeling. But the key factor is consistent application. It’s the ability to apply what you are doing consistently all the time. This will take you to a high level and that super world-class level makes you undefeatable. You should strive to achieve that type of greatness and that itself keeps you focused and motivated,” explained Jackson.
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