Without a doubt one of the greatest athletes Great Britain has ever produced, hurdling legend Colin Jackson ranked in the World Top 10 for over 16 years, and was consistently World Number 1. Incredibly, both Colin’s outdoor and indoor World Records stood for over a decade. Since setting a European junior record of 13.44 in 1986, Colin went on to set 7 European, 8 Commonwealth and 9 UK records at the 110m hurdles. He is one of only a very select group of athletes to have won four consecutive Outdoor European Championship gold medals. After appearing at 4 Olympic Games, Colin finally hung up his spikes at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham in 2003 in front of an adoring home crowd – a fitting end to the competitive career of one of the nation’s most respected and loved sporting personalities.
His professional and personable approach combines with his high-profile to ensure that he is in constant demand from the commercial sector. In line with his on-screen presentation and commentary, he is a charismatic and confident awards host and high-level motivational speaker.
Colin continues to transmit his positive competitive outlook to those around him through his involvement in numerous projects to initiate young people into athletics. Colin’s winning attitude can be broken down into key areas:
- Inspiration
- Motivation
- Preparation
- Concentration
- Dedication
- Commitment
Colin’s down-to-earth, approachable manner endears him to the public, media and corporate world alike. As a high-level motivational speaker, his delivery is clear and controlled with his natural energy and bubbly character ever present. Colin draws from his long and successful career which epitomised the emotional ups and downs of the ultimate champion athlete. He guides you through the lows of his defeat at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and onto the highs of the World Championships that followed. He speaks of the lessons he learnt and how he turned his bitter defeat into renewed motivation and focus. Alongside his continually rising standards and consistent application in his strive for excellence, Colin discusses the importance of setting realistic goals and focusing on the end result, no matter what. All of these factors contribute to the winning formula the British public witnessed for so long.
Covering the Athens Olympics was an early highlight and he is an integral part of the BBC programming for all major athletics events since them, including the London 2012 Olympics when he was a vital part of the studio team.
He has co-hosted the BBC1 live morning show Sunday live, presented The Truth About You (BBC1), traced his roots in a moving edition of the acclaimed Who Do You Think You are?, dazzled us with his dancing on Strictly Come Dancing and appeared in ITV’s Dancing On Ice Goes Gold.
Colin is the Patron of Fairbridge Cymru and works closely with Sports Relief where he is a Member of the steering panel and also an International Inspiration Ambassador for UNICEF. Between 2004 and 2012 Colin worked extensively with BBC Wales award-nominated sport website Raise Your Game which encouraged children to be ambitious in sport, and in life in general. Colin launched the Red Shoes Academy in 2012, in partnership with the Welsh Government’s Department of Education and Skills, leading a group of elite sports ambassadors into schools and colleges to inspire the next generation.