Campbell slams negative Jackson

14 April 2012

Darren Campbell expected better of Colin Jackson when the retired 110metres hurdles world record holder dared to suggest earlier this week that no British sprinter was going to win an Olympic medal in Athens next month.

"I think it was a comment which was totally out of order. He can't dampen my spirits because I've got an opportunity to go out there and win an Olympic gold," Campbell told Standard Sport, sounding rather more sad than angry. "It doesn't bother me because the bottom line is that I've got the same Olympic medal (a silver) that Colin Jackson has got anyway.

"No, what I was more disappointed about was the way those comments might affect the youngsters. They're going out there to Athens with a dream and who knows what they could achieve. Yet if they were to read what Colin said, their thoughts could become infected by negative stuff. Certain things like that just don't need to be uttered.

"Personally, I hope the other boys will feed off it. It depends on what sort of athlete you are but as my athletics life seems to have been about proving people wrong, these sort of things do inspire me. Yet if others are working on confidence and someone like Colin Jackson is telling them their times aren't that good, that could be damaging.

"What exactly is the point of saying something like he has? There's no thought process at work in what Colin is saying and the disappointing thing is that it's very unusual for him to be so negative. Why is he picking on the sprinters? Any particular reason? If you want to do something, how about going and helping Britain find another great hurdler?"

Campbell, you gather, is gathering a head of steam. It's a bit like his season. He has been pretty quiet up to now - then he always is at this time of the summer - but looks in better shape than this time last year when he went on to win a world championship bronze at 100m. He doesn't need to point out to Jackson that his seasons very often do conclude with a medal of some sort.

For the 30-year-old Mancunian, it's simple. There are just too many negative vibes flying around in British athletics at the moment without great ex-performers like his old one-time training partner seemingly kicking our fast men while they're down. Campbell's coach, Linford Christie, was always the same, often beratingjournalists or other critics if he felt they were not acting as cheerleaders for their sport.

The Norwich Union Olympic trials and AAA championships take place in his home city this weekend with prophecies of doom abounding about the meeting being a sorry rehearsal for what could prove Britain's worst track and field medal return at any Games since Brendan Foster's solitary bronze in 1976. Campbell won't listen. "By all means, be negative afterwards if it all goes wrong - but why be negative before anything's even happened?" he says.

Even if the 2004 world performance lists suggest Jackson has a valid point, without a British man to be seen in the top 20 of any sprint event - something which I can't remember happening since the pre-Christie/Jackson era - Campbell just retorts: "Stats mean nothing, performances and medals mean everything. I think we can shock people in the Olympics."

Mark Lewis-Francis, his young 100m rival who has struggled for a year, said much the same earlier this week and their clash on

Saturday, along with world indoor champion Jason Gardener, looks set to be one of the highlights of the weekend.

Campbell, still a superior 200m runner despite his tremendous championship 100m pedigree, may then have his work even more cut out in the half-lap where he will face Christian Malcolm and Chris Lambert. With such a demanding schedule in prospect, no wonder he mutters that it would have been nice if the selectors, taking into account his exceptional championship record, might have pre-selected him for the longer distance.

Still, you'd fancy him to finish in the top two of each event to book his place for a double attempt in Athens and it's hard to remember him ever sounding so confident. This week, Konstantinos Kenteris, the Greek who raced out of nowhere to win the 200m gold from him in Sydney, again emerged from another minihibernation to win ominously easily in Crete. Did that make Campbell's heart sink?

"Not at all," he responded. "I could easily be sitting here as Olympic champ today from Sydney but I'm a realist. I wouldn't have deserved it because I didn't work hard enough to be champ. This time around, everything I receive I will deserve. Kenteris could be inspired by home pressure or he could crumble - and if he crumbles, somebody has to be there to pick up the pieces."

MORE ABOUT

P Funk

Campbell slams negative Jackson

Read More