Michael Sloley/ Freelance Photographer
Christie...may move into sport administration.Nodley Wright, Staff Reporter
HE STILL has the sculpted physique of the man who 'terrorised' the track from the time he began to take athletics seriously in 1985 as a 25-year-old through to his retirement in 1997.
And although he's probably about a pound or two heavier than the 210 he weighed at his peak, his 6' 2" inch frame and piercing eyes create a presence that is just as intimidating.
Don't be fooled by the appearance that he is ready for a big race at any time, because it is not Linford Christie's body that works for him now. It is his mind.
"I want to coach an Olympic champion. That's what is left. Every athlete wants to be an Olympic champion, every coach wants to coach an Olympic champion so that is it for me," explained Christie with regards to the unconquered frontiers in the sport which has defined him.
The almost lazy-like ease with which he moves belies the passion which he puts into his latest project or obsession.
"The people I coach, if one or two a dem could achieve that goal or to fulfill whatever goals they set then to me that is it," he continued in a blend of British English and the Jamaican dialect which he retains from the land of his birth.
He currently guides a number of British athletes such as Jamie Baulch, Katharine Merry, Darren Campbell, Paul Gray, Matt Elias and Joice Maduaka. Baulch won the 400m at the 1999 World Indoor Championships in Japan, Merry took a bronze behind Australia's Cathy Freeman and Jamaica's Lorraine Fenton at the 2000 Sydney Olympics while Campbell took the silver in the same Games behind Greece's Kostas Kederis.
The man, who won the 1992 Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres and has the record of being the first European to go under 10 seconds for that distance, does not know who will become the first champion under his watch.
"They are good. Baulch is still quite young but has been having injury problems. If it was not for injuries and he ran to the best of his abilities he would have been the number one athlete in the 400 metres," he stated matter of factly. The event, he continued, has not really progressed since the retirement of the American Michael Johnson.
Says Christie: "It is the Jamaicans such as Gregory Haughton, Michael Blackwood and Davian Clarke who are running things in the 400m now. Avard Moncur of the Bahamas is not consistent and the Americans are not coming through."
Like Baulch, once Campbell and Merry are fit then the sky is the limit. "If Merry had not been injured then I do not think anyone would have beaten her this year."
Coaching is nothing new to Christie. This has been a part of his operations since the days he competed. Among those who benefitted from his punishing regimena were another ageless wonder, Jamaica's Merlene Ottey, 1992 double Olympic silver medallist Juliet Cuthbert, Mark McCoy and Colin Jackson.
At the training camps he was literally the head cook and bottle washer, often preparing the meals as well as running training sessions. That fierce competitiveness could see Christie calling the shots as head of the British Athletic Federation.
"I looked into that (going into administration), to be honest with you. I was going to run for president of the Federation but by the time things came around it was a bit too late so I did not think I would have done the job justice," he said.
"It comes around every four years so in four years time I might give it a shot. I mean there are no black people in the higher echelons of the sport. It would be nice to go in there and do something not just for black people but for young people.
"There are a number of people involved who are far removed from what is happening now. They have lost touch with the athletes, so I would want to go to try and change a few things."
