Colin Jackson says athletes must know exactly what they ingest

Colin Jackson is sitting in front of a can of Red Bull listing off all the substances he took to enhance his performance throughout his career. In these needy days of honesty and transparency he’s a welcome breath of fresh air.

“Creatine,” he starts. “Glucosamine. Carnitine. B-complex vitamins. And a supplement called ACE, which was calcium, zinc, Vitamin A.

“And that’s it. They were the only things I took as athlete, which I knew were important to me. Always the same five things. And I took them all the time.”

None of these, crucially, are considered illegal, at least not according the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada) prohibited-substance list, nor indeed are they are ever likely to be.

Jackson recognises the increasingly grey area between what is considered performance enhancing and what is not, but also reckons all athletes will look to gain an edge in whatever legal way they can.

Fast-track

Part of the problem, he says, is that many athletes can’t tell the difference. His career in the British vest stretched over two decades, saw him win 25 major championship medals and in 1993 set a 110m hurdles world record of 12.91 seconds which stood for 11 years. Now, he senses, some athletes are looking for a fast-track to success, or else believe that without taking illegal substances there is no guarantee of success.

“These substances were to help my fitness, help prevent colds. The carnitine can help the nervous system, can help burn fat. The B vitamins for health and wellbeing. And the glucosamine was because I had bad knees. And then I trained as hard as I possibly good. But these were the things I felt comfortable taking, and I didn’t feel the need to take anymore.

“The problem I have is when sportsmen and women start making up stories about why they’re taking stuff. If you just say somebody I was taking this to enhance my performance, that is the sole reason why, and I’ve been doing it for x, y or z, and it was absolutely fine then.

“Athletes want to better themselves, but if you start taking risks, move a little bit closer to that edge, then you’ve got to be able to deal with the consequences.”

This week’s news that Maria Sharapova returned a positive test for the previously legal substance meldonium has gained sympathy in some corners, but not Jackson’s.

“If you start taking something at age 18, is it really necessary, why are you taking? The problem then is when they start to put new substances in (the banned list), most athletes don’t spend any time reading it. The athlete should know what is coming on the list, and if you’re taking anything of pharmaceutical strength, you better be reading up every single thing. Also question yourself as to why are you taking these products, in that sense. Is there a specific reason?

“So for me, I don’t like excuses in that sense. And I also think they (Wada) are gaining ground, exposing people, and you can understand why Wada need to keep changing the list.”

Spinal cord

There is some gentle irony in that Jackson is in Dublin as an ambassador for the Wings for Life World Run, on May 8th – a global event which raises funds for spinal cord research projects, and sponsored by the energy drink which sells itself for its stimulant effects.

“Like a cup of coffee, or two espressos,” says Jackson, glancing towards the can of Red Bull. Indeed the debate, for now, may hinge on the idea all performance enhancing substances only become illegal or unethical once they are banned, and yet Jackson also believes too many athletes get caught up in the debate over what other athletes might be taking.

Not that Jackson was always trusting of his opposition: “I remember being on the brink of a breakthrough, thinking I was training as hard as I possibly could, and couldn’t quite understand why I still wasn’t winning.

“So of course one of the things that come to mind is that these athletes must be on drugs to be able to beat you. Of course I had those suspicions. You certainly weren’t oblivious to it.

“Even back then athletes were testing positive, so you knew there were drugs in the sport.

“But athletes should never use that excuse ‘they may be on drugs’. You never know when it will click, if you really are good enough. . . ”