Desire for nuff respect never sated

After announcing his retirement in 1997, the British gold-medal winning sprinter Linford Christie walked off the running track and on to British television screens, launching into a high profile career presenting children's programmes while also running a successful sports management company.

Many felt it was the end of Linford the athlete, arguably the greatest ever produced by Britain. Whatever questions were raised about his success, Christie's record spoke for itself - 25 British titles, 16 gold medals in Europe, world championship gold and an Olympic 100 metres gold.

For the past six months Christie has been taking part in a series of indoor athletics meetings after he was persuaded to resume running by a group of athletes under his training. Christie, aged 38, said he could still beat them and, to avoid a forfeit of being banned from shaving for six months, he must win a series of races against his trainees during the indoor season.

Since winning his first title aged 26, Christie, who was born in Jamaica but raised in west London, has enjoyed a love-hate relationship with the press and at times, the public.

Questions were immediately asked about how he managed to secure his first title at such a late age and these dogged Christie throughout his career, particularly as he carried on winning titles into his early 30s. The press accused him of having a chip on his shoulder while Christie accused the press of racism.

Worse was to come when in 1988 Christie tested positive for steroids at the Seoul Olympics. But he was cleared when it was found that he had taken ginseng.

Many felt that a whispering campaign was being conducted against Christie and the rumours culminated in a high court case last year when Christie successfully sued the journalist John McVicar over claims that he owed his success to performance-enhancing drugs.

Although he "retired" in 1997, Christie had five years earlier teamed up with fellow athlete Colin Jackson to set up the Nuff Respect management company. It has now become one of the leading sports management companies in Britain.