My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week, Olympic silver medallist and former world record holder in the 110 metres hurdles Colin Jackson discusses the defining moments and life choices that have shaped his remarkable career.
I thought I’d be an electrician, not an athlete
I was training to be an electrician because I saw my uncles being electricians and they were having good lives. I was thinking, “Well, I wouldn’t mind a little bit of a good life”.
And I never thought a sport being possible as a career, because I’d never seen it before at close quarters. Even when I was speaking to my coach growing up, who had coached many Olympic champions, world record holders before myself, he was always adamant that you have something to fall back on.
But I started becoming quite good quite early, and that was my good fortune. Things started to fall in place quite early, and my parents were supportive.
