Colin Ray Jackson,CBE (born 18 February 1967) is aWelsh formersprint andhurdling athlete who specialised in the110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain andWales, he won anOlympic silver medal,[2] becameworld champion twice, world indoor champion once, was undefeated at theEuropean Championships for 12 years and was twiceCommonwealth champion. Hisworld record of 12.91 seconds for the 110 m hurdles stood for nearly 13 years and his60 metres hurdles world record stood for nearly 27 years.[3]
Jackson won his first major medal, a silver, in the 110 m hurdles, aged 19 at the1986 Commonwealth Games. He soon established himself on the global scene, taking bronze at the1987 World Championships in Athletics and a silver medal at the1988 Summer Olympics. After winning another silver in the 60 m hurdles at the1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships, he wonEuropean andCommonwealth gold medals in 1990. The 1993 season saw him reach the pinnacle of his sport: after a silver at the1993 Indoor Worlds, he set a world record of 12.91 seconds to become the1993 World Champion. This record was unbeaten for almost 13 years and remains theworld championship record. Jackson was part of the British4 × 100 metres relay team which won the world silver medal.
This period was Jackson's most successful: he had a streak of 44 races undefeated between 1993 and 1995. In addition to European and Commonwealth golds outdoors in 1994, he set another world record, running 7.30 seconds in the 60 m hurdles. A double gold at the1994 European Athletics Indoor Championships in the 60 m hurdles and sprint events saw him set aEuropean record of 6.49 seconds over 60 m. Injury affected his 1995–1996 seasons and he finished only fourth at the1996 Olympics. He returned to competition in 1997 and took silver twice – at theIndoor World Championships and theWorld Outdoors. After winning theEuropean Championships for a third consecutive time in 1998 he became indoor and outdoor World champion in 1999. He finished fifth at the2000 Summer Olympics and his last major medals came in 2002, taking European indoor and outdoor gold and a Commonwealth silver.
After a period ofsports management andcoaching, he now works as a sports commentator for athletics and as a television presenter (predominantly for theBBC). He is a well-known face on British television, having been onStrictly Come Dancing in 2005, as well as a number of other entertainment and factual TV programmes.
Jackson, born inCardiff, South Wales, is of Jamaican and Panamanian descent. A DNA test indicated his ancestry is mostly African and European with some North American Indigenous ancestry, suggesting descent fromJamaican Maroons andTaínos. Genealogical research shows his mixed-race Panamanian-born mother hadScottish ancestry.[4] He is the brother of actressSuzanne Packer who playedTess Bateman in theBBC One hospital dramaCasualty. Jackson grew up inBirchgrove, attendingSpringwood Primary School and thenLlanedeyrn High School. He playedfootball andcricket for the county andrugby union and basketball for his school and joined the athletics clubBirchgrove Harriers, which nurtured his talent. As captain of his school cricket team, he and four team-mates were invited to trials for the Welsh national cricket team: whilst his team-mates were all picked, Jackson was passed over – he attributed this to racism, and has said it resulted in him quitting the sport and focusing on athletics, as "athletics had more people that looked like me".[5] Jackson has also stated he felt discriminated against byBritish Athletics for selections and sponsorship. He said: "I felt the discrimination was because I was Welsh more than anything else."[6]
Under coach and close friendMalcolm Arnold, Jackson started out as a promisingdecathlete before switching to high hurdles. He won gold at the1986 World Junior Championships and he soon switched to the senior ranks. Following a silver medal in the1986 Commonwealth Games, he won the110 m hurdles silver at the1988 Olympic Games behindRoger Kingdom. Although his career as an active competitor in the event would last a further fifteen years, the last ten of these as world record holder, and see him twice crowned World Champion, twice Commonwealth Champion and four times European Champion, this would remain his only Olympic medal of any colour. In1992 he eased through his first round heat in 13.10 s (which proved faster than the gold medal-winning time) but was restricted by an injury he picked up during the next round and could only finish seventh in the final, and in1996 he came fourth and in 2000, fifth.
He set hisworld record for the110 metres hurdles on 20 August 1993, winning his firstWorld Championships gold medal inStuttgart, Germany in 12.91 s. The new mark (also a championship record) shaved 0.01 s off the previous record held by Kingdom and stood for nearly thirteen years, only being equalled byLiu Xiang in the2004 Summer Olympics and finally beaten by the same man on 11 July 2006 at theSuper Grand Prix inLausanne with a time of 12.88 s. Jackson remained the sole holder of the indoor world record at the60 metres hurdles with a time of 7.30 seconds set inSindelfingen, Germany on 6 March 1994 until February 2021. At the1994 European Indoor Championships he became a double European champion: winning in both the 60 metres hurdles and60 metres sprint race as well. His 60 m dash time of 6.49 s was aEuropean record, as well as a championship record. These records remained unbeaten for 5 years, whenJason Gardener ran 6.46 s in 1999 inMaebashi, Japan.
The aforementioned achievements coincided with one of the high points of Jackson's career: he was unbeaten between 29 August 1993 and 9 February 1995. He won forty-four races consecutively in this period.[7] His winning time at the1994 Commonwealth Games was aCommonwealth Games record.
Jackson was a master of the "dip" – the skill of leaning forward at the end of a race to advance the position of the shoulders and improve times (and potentially positions). He was also renowned for being a particularly fast starter, which led to a great deal of success in 60 m events. Jackson's technical hurdling ability distinguished him from his peers whether they were faster than him or not.[citation needed]
He was the subject of controversy in 1998 when he decided to run for cash in Tokyo, Japan, rather than compete in theCommonwealth Games for Wales.
Six years after his first world title, Jackson regained his 110 m hurdles crown at the1999 Seville World Championships. This was to be his last gold medal at the very highest level, but he added a final, fourth successive European Championships gold in the2002 Munich European Championships, extending an unbroken reign as European Champion stretching back to 1990.
Since ending his athletics career at the2003 World Indoor Championships[8] Jackson has been involved in numerous endeavours, in athletics and other areas. He coached his close friend the swimmerMark Foster until Foster's retirement in April 2016. He has coached two of Wales best Olympic prospects, 400 m runnerTimothy Benjamin and 400 m hurdlerRhys Williams. He was also one of the members of the successfulLondon 2012 Olympic bid team and is a key member of theBBC's televisions athletics coverage. However, he started his broadcasting career in 2004 by co-hosting, withSally Gunnell, the BBC reality TV programmeBorn to Win.
Already the holder of theMBE that he received in1990 for his services to athletics, in2000 he was promoted toOBE and then in2003 to aCBE.[9][10]
The Englishreggae bandAswad name-checked him on their 1994 hit song "Shine":Him a floating like a butterfly, the hurdling man – Yes, me-a-chat about Colin Jackson.[citation needed]
Jackson has written three books: the first,The Young Track and Field Athlete, was published in March 1996 byDorling Kindersley;[11] his second,Colin Jackson: The Autobiography, was published in April 2004 byBBC Books;[12] and his last,Life's New Hurdles, was published in March 2008 by Accent Press Ltd as part of theQuick Reads Initiative.[13]
Since 2014 Jackson has been the race director of theWings for Life World Run.[14][15]
In December 2018 it was announced that Jackson was to become Chancellor ofWrexham Glyndŵr University.[16][17]
In July 2022 he participated in theCommonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, carrying the baton intoBasildon Sporting Village.[18][19]
After retiring from athletics, he became the face ofBBC Raise Your Game with Colin Jackson in which he talked to high-profile international stars about the importance of learning. Participants includedLuol Deng,Jenson Button,Davina McCall, and stars fromStrictly Come Dancing, to name but a few.
His work as a BBC athletics commentator and pundit began with the2004 Athens Olympics. Since then he has been a regular member of the BBC team covering athletics events.[20] In this role he has worked on sixSummer Olympic Games: 2004 in Athens,2008 in Beijing,2012 in London,2016 in Rio,2020 in Tokyo and2024 in Paris.[21][22][23][24][25][26] He has also worked on fiveCommonwealth Games: as a roving reporter at2006 in Melbourne and as a pundit and commentator at2010 in Delhi,2014 in Glasgow,2018 in Gold Coast and2022 in Birmingham.[27][28][29][30][31] In addition, Jackson worked as a roving reporter for the BBC's coverage of the2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.[32]
He is a Director of multimedia production company Red Shoes, along with fellow Director and former BBC Executive Producer Richard Owen. Their clients include theIAAF andUEFA.
Jackson, who is of Jamaican descent, was the subject of an episode of theBBC TV genealogy seriesWho Do You Think You Are?,[33] broadcast in the UK on 20 September 2006. Genetic tests showed his ancestry to be 55% African, 7% Native American (believed to be from JamaicanMaroon ancestry on his father's side), and 38% European. His mother was born inPanama, the daughter of Richard Augustus Packer and Gladys McGowan Campbell. Gladys Campbell was fromJamaica, the daughter of a Scottish man Duncan Campbell and his housemaid Albertina Wallace.[34]
In March 2007 Jackson starred as the 'hidden celebrity' in an episode of the award-winningCBBC gameshowHider in the House, hosted byJK and Joel.
In 2008, Jackson co-hosted, withLouise Minchin, the Sunday morning showSunday Life onBBC One.[35]
Colin Jackson appeared in the BBC One documentaryThe Making of Me on 31 July 2008, which attempted to find out what had made him such a talented athlete.[36] A sample of his leg muscle showed that he had 25% super-fast twitch fibres, when all previous athletes tested had only 2%. Family support was also thought to have been highly significant. Jamaicans are notable[according to whom?] for the high level of support and encouragement they give their children in the area of sports. One clip showed a stadium in Jamaica with 30,000 people cheering on children taking part in an average school sports meet. Supporters included their peers, who seemed happy to cheer on their classmates who were 'good at sports'. Although Jackson was brought up in the UK, he remembers his parents cheering onDon Quarrie in the 1976 Olympics, inspiring him to want to 'be like that'.[citation needed]
In 2009 Jackson shared his writing tips on the adult learning website "BBC raw words". He features in a comedy short withNina Wadia,Rowland Rivron andAnneka Rice about structuring a story, and also shares his writing tips gained from writingLife's New Hurdles.[citation needed]
In July 2010, Jackson was a competitor on the BBC television programmeCelebrity MasterChef.[citation needed]
In 2012 Jackson made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the UK TV comedy dramaStella. In 2015, he starred in the historical experience24 Hours in the Past.
In February 2019 Jackson was inaugurated as a Chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University, after being awarded with an Honorary Fellowship in 2016 for his contribution to sport.[37]
In 2005, he appeared as one of the celebrity contestants on theBBC TV seriesStrictly Come Dancing, where he came second with his dance partnerErin Boag, just losing out to cricketerDarren Gough.[38] In 2006 Jackson became the first competitor who had not won the main series to win theStrictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.
In 2013 Jackson created his own charitable fundraising event for men,Go Dad Run.[39][40] The purpose is to raise awareness of men's health issues and funds for male based charitiesProstate Cancer UK, Bowel Cancer UK, Orchid and CALM plus local Cancer Care charities and hospices.[41] Ambassadors includeMark Foster,Donovan Bailey,Suzanne Packer,Fernando Montano,Siân Lloyd andJamie Baulch.[citation needed]
Jackson CBE joined Sport4Kids (S4K) as their International Director and Brand Ambassador.[42][43]
Jackson holds special responsibilities for developing the S4K brand and help the mission to transform children's sport across the UK and international markets through the company's franchise network.[citation needed]
In 2020 Jackson joined other celebrities in a newS4C television series calledIaith ar Daith ('Language Road Trip') in which they take a crash course in theWelsh language while travelling around Wales.[44] At the end of the series he was interviewed in Welsh.[45] The series was broadcast in April 2020.[46] An extra episode,Iaith ar Daith 'Dolig ('Language Road Trip: Christmas') was broadcast at the end of 2020, interviewing each of the celebrities about whether they were still making use of their Welsh and the opportunities they had had to use Welshduring lockdown.[47]
In 2021, Jackson participated in thethirteenth series ofDancing on Ice.[48] He was partnered withKlabera Komini and finished in 3rd Place.[49]
On 26 August 2017 Jacksoncame out as gay in a clip on Swedish television promoting the series "Rainbow Heroes".[50][51] Previously he had denied that he was gay both in his 2004 autobiography[12] and in a 2008 interview withThe Voice newspaper.[52]
His eldest sister isCasualty actressSuzanne Packer.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Great Britain and Wales | |||||
| 1985 | European Indoor Championships | Piraeus, Greece | 10th (sf) | 60 m hurdles | 7.85 |
| European Junior Championships | Cottbus,East Germany | 2nd | 110 m hurdles | 13.69 | |
| 1986 | World Junior Championships | Athens, Greece | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.44 |
| Commonwealth Games | Edinburgh, United Kingdom | 2nd | 110 m hurdles | 13.42 | |
| 1987 | European Indoor Championships | Liévin, France | 2nd | 60 m hurdles | 7.63 |
| World Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, United States | 4th | 60 m hurdles | 7.68 | |
| World Championships | Rome, Italy | 3rd | 110 m hurdles | 13.38 | |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 2nd | 110 m hurdles | 13.28 |
| 1989 | European Indoor Championships | The Hague (Netherlands) | 1st | 60 m hurdles | 7.59 |
| World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 60 m hurdles | 7.45 | |
| World Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 2nd | 110 m hurdles | 12.95 (w) | |
| 1990 | Commonwealth Games | Auckland, New Zealand | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.08 |
| European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.18 | |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd (h) | 110 m hurdles | 13.251 |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 7th | 110 m hurdles | 13.46 |
| World Cup | Havana, Cuba | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.07 | |
| 1993 | World Indoor Championships | Toronto, Canada | 2nd | 60 m hurdles | 7.43 |
| World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 12.91 | |
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 37.77 | |||
| 1994 | European Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 1st | 60 m | 6.49 |
| 1st | 60 m hurdles | 7.41 | |||
| Goodwill Games | St. Petersburg, Russia | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.29 | |
| Commonwealth Games | Victoria, Canada | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.08 | |
| European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.08 | |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 4th | 110 m hurdles | 13.19 |
| 1997 | World Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 2nd | 60 m hurdles | 7.49 |
| World Championships | Athens, Greece | 2nd | 110 m hurdles | 13.05 | |
| 1998 | Goodwill Games | Uniondale, United States | 4th | 110 m hurdles | 13.17 |
| European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.02 | |
| World Cup | Johannesburg, South Africa | 2nd | 110 m hurdles | 13.11 | |
| 1999 | World Indoor Championships | Maebashi, Japan | 1st | 60 m hurdles | 7.38 |
| World Championships | Seville, Spain | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.04 | |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 5th | 110 m hurdles | 13.28 |
| 2001 | Goodwill Games | Brisbane, Australia | 5th | 110 m hurdles | 13.63 |
| 2002 | European Indoor Championships | Vienna, Austria | 1st | 60 m hurdles | 7.40 |
| Commonwealth Games | Manchester, United Kingdom | 2nd | 110 m hurdles | 13.39 | |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.11 | |
| 2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 5th | 60 m hurdles | 7.61 |
1Did not start in the semifinals
Personal bests
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