Backley still has a long way to throw

"For him the dream was to own a ranch full of horses with a whole team of people to run it and to be able to fund it for the rest of his life. He won 11 tournaments in three years to make the dream happen, but when he was living the dream on a daily basis he couldn't win any more. He never won another tournament until he joined the senior tour.

"I don't know whether my dream is meant to be. Either way, it's cool. My mind is set on achieving it. The most important thing is to have a dream. The saddest thing would be not to have one at all.''

In any case, the happy state of events in Backley's private life should help ease him into retirement. Come October, he and his wife Clare celebrate their first wedding anniversary and a few days into 2004 their first child is due. This, as much as anything, is why he is now sure next year will be his last in elite competition.

"It will definitely be the end,'' he said. "I'm absolutely sure I won't do a Steve Redgrave and carry on after all. Married life's great. First kid is due just after New Year. It's so exciting. My brother said to me how surreal it is that after being obsessed by the pregnancy for months, you're actually sat at home with a baby. I can't wait.''

Still, Backley has been around so long that the very idea of British athletics without him is quite unsettling. When he won his first global prize, at the World Student Games in 1989, Margaret Thatcher still had another year left in Downing Street.

He said: "I look back and the years have just sped by. When you're older, a year seems shorter than when you're younger. It's weird hearing people call me an elder statesman, although I certainly feel it.

"When you're 20, nothing hurts. You jump out of bed every morning and run round the park without an ache or a pain. Nowadays, it takes me 15 minutes to get down the stairs with my achilles screaming at me.

"It seems amazing that it's 13 years since I set my first world record at Crystal Palace. That was the best night ever. Some people call the Palace a dump but it can be awesome. Tonight, at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix, I know it's going to be fantastic. When it's a hot night and it's dark and the floodlights come up on the full stands, that's when it's at its best. It's not the bricks and mortar that make a great venue. It's the atmosphere. When it's full, Crystal Palace is second to none.

"All I'm looking for tonight is a nice stable competition. Six consistent throws rather than one massive throw at the beginning, which is what I'll want at the world championships later this month. Of course I want to win in Paris. But Olympic gold is everybody's dream, and it's still mine.''