| 1 | | | After 10,000 hours of training, thousands of miles of running, stretching, bending |
| | | and gallons of sweat, what does it all come down to in the end? A couple of inches, maybe |
| | | even less? After all, it's hard to measure two-hundredths of a second when you're running |
| | | at 26 miles an hour. Just the same, when it comes to running against the fastest men in the |
| 5 | | world, then it's all about shaving off fractions of seconds and inches. It's the difference |
| | | between gold and glory, or being just another runner - an 'also ran'. |
| 2 | | | Now, after five years of working at it and doing little else, Linford Christie has |
| | | arrived. European Champion in 1986, bronze in the World Championships in 1987, silver |
| | | at the 1988 Olympics and gold in the World Cup last year. |
| 10 | | His dream is to be the fastest man in the world and it's this aim that keeps Linford |
| | | going through the long winter months of training, as he drives himself through his six-and- |
| | | a-half-hour routine, six days a week, when there's no one watching and no one cheering. |
| 3 | | | Just him and the pain, and always the dream. 'I enjoy the training,' he insists. 'It's |
| | | something that has to be done and I like the feeling at the end of the pain. I just think |
| 15 | | about my opposition and how I'm going to make them pay for having to go through all |
| | | this. I also know that they're doing it as well, so if I slip they'll step in.' |
| 4 | | | The trouble is that some people get carried away with their ambitions and turn to |
| | | cheating. People like Ben Johnson, for instance. 'The business with Ben was bad for the |
| | | sport. He knew the risk he was taking, he got caught and was banned and in my view he |
| 20 | | should be banned for life. Any sportsman who takes drugs should be. Commercially he |
| | | was good for the sport. He's fast and he's had good battles with people, which means there |
| | | will be pressures from those who want to exploit that to get the ban lifted. I believe that's |
| | | wrong.' |
| 5 | | | Just the same, with so much at stake, maybe it isn't so surprising that people are |
| 25 | | tempted. Is Linford ever tempted? 'No one has ever offered me drugs. I believe that you |
| | | can win with hard work and determination. You don't have to take things to help you. I |
| | | don't condemn it because it's cheating, but because of my health. You're only in athletics a |
| | | short time but you've got a lot left afterwards. I don't want to keep paying the price all |
| | | through that time, it's not worth it.' |
| 6 | 30 | | In his early career no one took much notice of Linford. He was selected for the |
| | | national team in 1984, then dropped. There was certainly no sign of what might come - |
| | | reaching his peak at 30 when most of his early rivals had long since quit. 'I had a lot of |
| | | natural talent, but I didn't train,' he recalls. 'I didn't have much discipline, and I thought |
| | | nothing of having a few drinks in the evening. But it all changed about five years ago when |
| 35 | | I got fed up with people telling me that I could be number one if I wanted. It seemed like |
| | | time to do something about it.' |
| 7 | | | Being older has helped him to deal with the pressures, the rows, the media attention |
| | | and dope testing that would have been so much tougher on a youngster. 'There's a lot of |
| | | pressure and that's why we lose so many on the way up. The expectations are tremendous |
| 40 | | and they find it hard to handle.' |
| 8 | | | Young or old, in the end it all comes down to winning, he insists. Being the world |
| | | record holder would be fine, but being number one is where he wants to be. I wouldn't |
| | | care if I did it in 12 seconds just as long as I beat everyone. Winning is the best feeling in |
| | | the world, it's impossible to describe it,' says Linford. 'H's pure ecstasy.' |
| | | |
| 45 | | from an article by Simon Kinnersley in 'Woman's Own', August 27, 1990 |
