Doha: Olympic champion Linford Christie said that the new generation of athletes has different priorities that may limit their success in the sport while speaking at the Doha Goals Forum here yesterday.
In an on-stage conversation with fellow Olympic champions Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Jonathan Edwards, Christie addressed the fact that his national record for the 100m has remained unbroken for 21 years.
“Young athletes are fast and strong enough but they aren’t really durable. They (athletes) compete because they can make money from it – but I did it because I loved it. They want to live the life, but you can’t – if you want to be successful in athletics, it’s 24x7 (job),” said British most decorative athlete having won 24 major championship medals including 10 gold medals.
Christie is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes, the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. He was the first European to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 m and still holds the British record in the event.
Joyner-Kersee’s world record in the heptathlon has stood for 26 years, as well as the top six results of all time in the discipline.
“You have to believe in the impossible. They said no woman could win a marathon; no woman could break the 7,000 point barrier in my sport. But I’m sure that 7,000 points will be a consistent achievement by 2016,” the 52-year-old American said.
Christie also addressed the issue of his failed drug test and subsequent ban, which he incurred in 1999, as he was on the verge of retiring. Christie was cleared by UK Athletics.
“It was one of those things. You have to live your life - when you’re innocent and know you haven’t done it, you have to move on. It is my honest belief that one day, the truth will come out,” the 52-year-old said.
Christie’s track career ended when he received a two-year ban for taking a performance-enhancing substance, although he has always denied any wrongdoing.
“To be prevented from being a part of the Olympics – including London 2012 – had a profound effect on my life. But people know what kind of person I am. I’m here, alive, and I will always move forward.”
Joyner-Kersee addressed the effect that a high-profile drug ban has on the sport, particularly Ben Johnson’s disqualification from the 1988 Olympic Games after winning the 100metres race.
“That really put a dampener on my whole Olympic spirit – it was our moment. From that day on, people were whispering and it wasn’t fair – it took hard work for the rest of us to achieve that,” said Joyner-Kersee, who won gold in the heptathlon and long jump in the same championships.
Since his retirement Christie has focused on coaching, helping Katharine Merry and Darren Campbell to Olympic medals, and his sports management company.
The Peninsula
