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Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a Welsh former sprint and
hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...
athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, he won an
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
silver medal, became
world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
twice, World indoor champion once, was undefeated at the
European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
for 12 years and was twice
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
champion. His
world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
of 12.91 seconds for the 110 m hurdles stood for over 10 years and his
60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both ...
world record stood for nearly 27 years. Jackson won his first major medal, a silver, in the 110 m hurdles, aged 19 at the
1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...
. He soon established himself on the global scene, taking bronze at the
1987 World Championships in Athletics The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987. Men's results Track 1983 , 1987 ...
and a silver medal at the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
. After winning another silver in the 60 m hurdles at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships, he won European and
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
gold medals in 1990. The 1993 season saw him reach the pinnacle of his sport: after a silver at the 1993 Indoor Worlds, he set a world record of 12.91 seconds to become the 1993 World Champion. This record was unbeaten for almost 13 years and remains the world championship record. Jackson was part of the British 4×100 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 the 1994 European Athletics Indoor Championships in the 60 m hurdles and sprint events saw him set a European record of 6.49 seconds over 60 m. Injury affected his 1995–1996 seasons and he finished only fourth at the
1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
. He returned to competition in 1997 and took silver twice – at the Indoor World Championships and the World Outdoors. After winning the
European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
for a third consecutive time in 1998 he became indoor and outdoor World champion in 1999. He finished fifth at the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
and his last major medals came in 2002, taking European indoor and outdoor gold and a Commonwealth silver. After a period of
sports management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...
and
coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...
, he now works as a sports commentator for athletics and as a television presenter (predominantly for the BBC). He is a well-known face on British television, having been on ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 j ...
'' in 2005, as well as a number of other entertainment and factual TV programmes.


Early life

Jackson, born in
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
, South Wales, is of
Jamaican Maroon Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery on the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern parishes. Africans who were ensl ...
,
Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...
, and Scottish ancestry. He is the brother of actress Suzanne Packer who played Tess Bateman in the
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
hospital drama '' Casualty''. Jackson grew up in Birchgrove, attending Springwood Primary School and then
Llanedeyrn High School Llanedeyrn High School () was an 11–16 mixed, community comprehensive school in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1970 as the first purpose-built comprehensive school in Wales and closed in 2014. History Because of falli ...
. He played
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
and
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
for the county and
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
and basketball for his school and joined the athletics club Birchgrove 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". Jackson has also stated he felt discriminated against by British Athletics for selections and sponsorship. He said: "I felt the discrimination was because I was Welsh more than anything else."


Athletics career

Under coach and close friend Malcolm Arnold, Jackson started out as a promising
decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word " pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or � ...
before switching to high hurdles. He won gold at the 1986 World Junior Championships and he soon switched to the senior ranks. Following a silver medal in the
1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...
, he won the
110m hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...
silver at the
1988 Olympic Games 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1 ...
behind
Roger Kingdom Roger Kingdom (born August 26, 1962) is a former sprint hurdler, athletics coach, and strength and conditioning coach from the United States. He is currently the speed and conditioning coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Early ...
. 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. In
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
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 in
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
he came fourth and in 2000, fifth. He set his
world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
for the 110 metres hurdles on 20 August 1993, winning his first World Championships gold medal in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, 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 by Liu Xiang in the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
and finally beaten by the same man on 11 July 2006 at the Super Grand Prix in
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
with a time of 12.88 s. Jackson remained the sole holder of the indoor world record at the
60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both ...
with a time of 7.30 seconds set in Sindelfingen, Germany on 6 March 1994 until February 2021. At the 1994 European Indoor Championships he became a double European champion: winning in both the 60 metres hurdles and 60 metres sprint race as well. His 60 m dash time of 6.49 s was a European record, as well as a championship record. These records remained unbeaten for 5 years, when Jason Gardener ran 6.46 s in 1999 in
Maebashi is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . I ...
, 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. His winning time at the 1994 Commonwealth Games was a Commonwealth 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 60m events. Jackson's technical hurdling ability distinguished him from his peers whether they were faster than him or not. He was the subject of controversy in 1998 when he decided to run for cash in Tokyo, Japan, rather than compete in the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...
for Wales. Six years after his first world title, Jackson regained his 110m hurdles crown at the 1999 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 the 2002 Munich European Championships, extending an unbroken reign as European Champion stretching back to 1990.


Post-retirement career

Since ending his athletics career at the 2003 World Indoor Championships Jackson has been involved in numerous endeavours, in athletics and other areas. He coached his close friend the swimmer Mark Foster until Foster's retirement in April 2016. He has coached two of Wales best Olympic prospects, 400m runner
Timothy Benjamin Timothy David Benjamin (born 2 May 1982) is a former professional athlete from Wales. He specialised in the 400 metres, and in his teens was coached by Jock Anderson, in the same training group as Christian Malcolm. He then moved to live in Slo ...
and 400m hurdler Rhys Williams. He was also one of the members of the successful
London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...
Olympic bid team and is a key member of the BBC's televisions athletics coverage. However, he started his broadcasting career in 2004 by co-hosting, with Sally Gunnell, the BBC reality TV programme ''Born to Win''. Already the holder of the MBE that he received in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
for his services to athletics, in 2000 he was promoted to OBE and then in
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
to a CBE. The English
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
band
Aswad Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one " Don't ...
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''. Jackson has written three books: the first, ''The Young Track and Field Athlete'', was published in March 1996 by
Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media c ...
; his second, ''Colin Jackson: The Autobiography'', was published in April 2004 by BBC Books; and his last, ''Life's New Hurdles'', was published in March 2008 by Accent Press Ltd as part of the Quick Reads Initiative. Since 2014 Jackson has been the race director of the
Wings for Life World Run The Wings for Life World Run is a running competition held on the first weekend of May since 2014 to collect funds for the not-for-profit foundation ''Wings for Life''. The entry fee goes completely to Spinal Cord Research. It became the largest ...
. In December 2018 it was announced that Jackson was to become Chancellor of
Wrexham Glyndŵr University , mottoeng = Confidence through Education , logo = Wrexham Glyndŵr University Logo.svg , image = Coat of arms of Wrexham Glyndŵr.svg , image_size = 180px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , established = 1887, as Wrexham School of Scien ...
. In July 2022 he participated in the Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, carrying the baton into
Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...
Sporting Village.


Media career

After retiring from athletics, he became the face of ''BBC Raise Your Game with Colin Jackson'' in which he talked to high-profile international stars about the importance of learning. Participants included Luol Deng,
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
,
Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show '' Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's ''Streetmate'' (199 ...
, and stars from ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 j ...
'', to name but a few. His work as a BBC athletics commentator and pundit began with the 2004 Athens Olympics. Since then he has been a regular member of the BBC team covering athletics events. He is a Director of multimedia production company Red Shoes, along with fellow Director and former BBC Executive Producer Richard Owen. Their clients include the
IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
and
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...
. Jackson, who is of Jamaican descent, was the subject of an episode of the BBC TV genealogy series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', broadcast in the UK on 20 September 2006. Genetic tests showed his ancestry to be 55% African, 7% Native American (believed to be from Jamaican
Maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are vari ...
ancestry on his father's side), and 38% European. His mother was born in
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
, the daughter of Richard Augustus Packer and Gladys McGowan Campbell. Gladys Campbell was from
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
, the daughter of a Scottish man Duncan Campbell and his housemaid Albertina Wallace. In March 2007 Jackson starred as the 'hidden celebrity' in an episode of the award-winning
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7–16 ...
gameshow '' Hider in the House'', hosted by
JK and Joel Jason King (né Griffiths) and Joel Ross (né Hogg), known professionally as JK and Joel, were a radio presenting duo, best known for hosting the official UK chart on BBC Radio 1 between 2005 and 2007 and presented the CBBC show ''Hider in the ...
. In 2008, Jackson co-hosted, with Louise Minchin, the Sunday morning show '' Sunday Life'' on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
. Colin Jackson appeared in the BBC One documentary ''The Making of Me'' on 31 July 2008, which attempted to find out what had made him such a talented athlete. 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 for the high level of support and encouragement they give their children in the area of sports. One clip showed a stadium in
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
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 on Don Quarrie in the 1976 Olympics, inspiring him to want to 'be like that'. In 2009 Jackson shared his writing tips on the adult learning website "BBC raw words". He features in a comedy short with Nina Wadia, Rowland Rivron and Anneka Rice about structuring a story, and also shares his writing tips gained from writing ''Life's New Hurdles''. In July 2010, Jackson was a competitor on the BBC television programme ''
Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 20 ...
''. In 2012 Jackson made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the UK TV comedy drama ''Stella''. In 2015, he starred in the historical experience '' 24 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.


''Strictly Come Dancing''

In 2005, he appeared as one of the celebrity contestants on the BBC TV series ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 j ...
'', where he came second with his dance partner Erin Boag, just losing out to cricketer Darren Gough. In 2006 Jackson became the first competitor who had not won the main series to win the ''Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special''.


Go Dad Run

In 2013 Jackson created his own charitable fundraising event for men, Go Dad Run. The purpose is to raise awareness of men's health issues and funds for male based charities Prostate Cancer UK, Bowel Cancer UK, Orchid and CALM plus local Cancer Care charities and hospices. Ambassadors include Mark Foster, Donovan Bailey, Suzanne Packer, Fernando Montano, Siân Lloyd and Jamie Baulch.


Sport 4 Kids

Jackson CBE joined Sport4Kids (S4K) as their International Director and Brand Ambassador. 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.


In 2020 Jackson joined other celebrities in a new
S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...
television series called ('Language Road Trip') in which they take a crash course in the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...
while travelling around Wales. At the end of the series he was interviewed in Welsh. The series was broadcast in April 2020. An extra episode, ('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 Welsh during lockdown.


''Dancing on Ice''

In 2021, Jackson participated in the thirteenth series of ''
Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their prof ...
''. He was partnered with Klabera Komini and finished in 3rd Place.


Personal life

On 26 August 2017 Jackson came out as gay in a clip on Swedish television promoting the series "Rainbow Heroes". Previously he had denied that he was gay both in his 2004 autobiography and in a 2008 interview with '' The Voice'' newspaper.


International competitions

1Did not start in the semifinals Personal bests ;Outdoor * 110 metres hurdles – 12.91 sec (1993), former world record and current European record * 200 metres hurdles – 22.63 sec (1991) *
100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
– 10.29 sec (1990) *
200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...
– 21.19 sec (1988) *
High jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
– (1982) *
Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...
– (1985) ;Indoor *
50 metres hurdles 50 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling, usually only run in indoor competitions. Because very few contests are held over the distance, most of the fastest times recorded for the event were set during specially measured and timed races over lon ...
– 6.40 sec (1999), current British record *
60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both ...
– 7.30 sec (1994), former world record * 110 metres hurdles – 13.40 sec (2003) * 60 metres – 6.49 sec (1994), former European record * All information from IAAF profile.Colin Jackson
IAAF. Retrieved on 26 July 2014.


References


Bibliography

* ''Colin Jackson: The Autobiography'' (BBC Books, 2003)


External links

* *
Biography at British Olympic Association

BBC Hall of Fame profile

Speaker profile of Colin Jackson

Agent's biography

''Sunday Morning with Colin Jackson and Suzanne Packer''
(BBC Radio Wales) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Colin Living people 1967 births AAA Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Black British sportspeople British male sprinters British male hurdlers British sportspeople of Jamaican descent Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Cool Cymru European Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships winners European Athletics Indoor Championships winners European Athlete of the Year winners Gay sportsmen Goodwill Games medalists in athletics IAAF Continental Cup winners World Athletics indoor record holders LGBT Black British people LGBT sportspeople from Wales LGBT track and field athletes Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Great Britain Olympic male hurdlers Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) People of Jamaican Maroon descent Sportspeople from Cardiff Team Bath track and field athletes UK Athletics Championships winners Welsh male hurdlers Welsh male sprinters Welsh people of Jamaican descent Welsh people of Scottish descent Welsh people of Taíno descent Welsh Olympic medallists World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics U20 Championships winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) British television presenters Welsh television presenters 21st-century LGBT people