Colin Jackson won the 110 metres hurdles five times in eight appearances at the SPAR European Cup. The European Cup record holder talks about why he loved the competition.

Jackson on what the SPAR European Cup means to him…

“Most of the time you are, or in my case were, running for yourself as a top class athlete. However, when you pulled on a Great Britain vest in this event you knew that you were running for the whole team and that every point counted towards the final score.

“In some respects, the European Cup was the toughest competition I ever competed in.

“Because of what it meant, that was why I never wanted to be the British team captain. I didn’t want the responsibility combined with the fact that my race was always at the start of the second day and it was always important to get a good start, and some big points. I couldn’t have done the two jobs!”

Jackson on his European Cup record run of 13.10 seconds in 1993…

“The 1993 Cup was very important to me. I was very disappointed after the previous summer’s Olympics (where he had finished seventh) and I wanted to come out and prove myself. In addition, the Cup was on one of my favourite tracks, Rome.

“I knew I was in good shape if I was running that fast, that early in the season, and it set me up for the rest of that summer, when I won the World Championships and ran a world record.

“Am I surprised the record is still standing? No!

“It is very difficult to run that sort of time in June and, after all, I was the best of the lot at the time and for many years afterwards!”

Jackson on his debut in 1987, and his swansong 15 years later…

“My debut in the European Cup in 1987 was inevitably a very different experience to those that I ran in afterwards.

“I was very nervous in Prague. I was only 20 and it was the first time that I had run in that kind of field but I ran well, finished second, and when I looked back I realised I beat some good athletes.

“It helped give me confidence that I could hold my own in that sort of company. I built the rest of my career on races such as that one in the Cup.

“Turning the clock forward to 2002, I was keen to run because by that stage the Cup had become important to me. There is the obvious aspect of representing and running well for your country but also from a personal basis as it was a good early season event at which to test yourself.

“I look back and think that my victory in Annecy (France), and my time of 13.15 seconds, which was my fastest for two years, was an excellent way to bow out. It was a very good performance for a 35-year-old athlete!”


Colin Jackson was world 110m hurdles champion in 1993 and 1999 and won Gold at four consecutive European Championships from 1990 to 2002. He still holds the World record for 110m hurdles with 12.91 seconds and for the indoor 60m hurdles with 7.30 seconds.