Colin Jackson soon established himself on the global scene, taking bronze at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics and a silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
37 Facts About Colin Jackson
2.
Colin Jackson finished fifth at the 2000 Summer Olympics and his last major medals came in 2002, taking European indoor and outdoor gold and a Commonwealth silver.
3.
Colin Jackson is a well-known face on British television, having been on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005, as well as a number of other entertainment and factual TV programmes.
4.
Colin Jackson, born in Cardiff, South Wales, is of Jamaican Maroon, Taino, and Scottish ancestry.
5.
Colin Jackson is the brother of actress Suzanne Packer who played Tess Bateman in the BBC One hospital drama Casualty.
6.
Colin Jackson grew up in Birchgrove, attending Springwood Primary School and then Llanedeyrn High School.
7.
Colin Jackson played football and cricket for the county and rugby union and basketball for his school and joined the athletics club Birchgrove Harriers, which nurtured his talent.
8.
Colin Jackson has stated he felt discriminated against by British Athletics for selections and sponsorship.
9.
Under coach and close friend Malcolm Arnold, Colin Jackson started out as a promising decathlete before switching to high hurdles.
10.
Colin Jackson won gold at the 1986 World Junior Championships and he soon switched to the senior ranks.
11.
Colin Jackson's 60 m dash time of 6.49 s was a European record, as well as a championship record.
12.
Colin Jackson's winning time at the 1994 Commonwealth Games was a Commonwealth Games record.
13.
Colin Jackson was renowned for being a particularly fast starter, which led to a great deal of success in 60m events.
14.
Colin Jackson was the subject of controversy in 1998 when he decided to run for cash in Tokyo, Japan, rather than compete in the Commonwealth Games for Wales.
15.
Six years after his first world title, Colin Jackson regained his 110m hurdles crown at the 1999 Seville World Championships.
16.
Since ending his athletics career at the 2003 World Indoor Championships Colin Jackson has been involved in numerous endeavours, in athletics and other areas.
17.
Colin Jackson coached his close friend the swimmer Mark Foster until Foster's retirement in April 2016.
18.
Colin Jackson has coached two of Wales best Olympic prospects, 400m runner Timothy Benjamin and 400m hurdler Rhys Williams.
19.
Colin Jackson was one of the members of the successful London 2012 Olympic bid team and is a key member of the BBC's televisions athletics coverage.
20.
Since 2014 Colin Jackson has been the race director of the Wings for Life World Run.
21.
In December 2018 it was announced that Colin Jackson was to become Chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University.
22.
Colin Jackson is a Director of multimedia production company Red Shoes, along with fellow Director and former BBC Executive Producer Richard Owen.
23.
In March 2007 Colin Jackson starred as the 'hidden celebrity' in an episode of the award-winning CBBC gameshow Hider in the House, hosted by JK and Joel.
24.
In 2008, Colin Jackson co-hosted, with Louise Minchin, the Sunday morning show Sunday Life on BBC One.
25.
Colin Jackson appeared in the BBC One documentary The Making of Me on 31 July 2008, which attempted to find out what had made him such a talented athlete.
26.
In 2009 Colin Jackson shared his writing tips on the adult learning website "BBC raw words".
27.
In July 2010, Colin Jackson was a competitor on the BBC television programme Celebrity MasterChef.
28.
In 2012 Colin Jackson made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the UK TV comedy drama Stella.
29.
In February 2019 Colin Jackson was inaugurated as a Chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University, after being awarded with an Honorary Fellowship in 2016 for his contribution to sport.
30.
In 2006 Colin Jackson became the first competitor who had not won the main series to win the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.
31.
In 2013 Colin Jackson created his own charitable fundraising event for men, Go Dad Run.
32.
Colin Jackson CBE joined Sport4Kids as their International Director and Brand Ambassador.
33.
Colin Jackson holds special responsibilities for developing the S4K brand and help the mission to transform children's sport across the UK and international markets through the company's franchise network.
34.
In 2020 Colin Jackson joined other celebrities in a new S4C television series called in which they take a crash course in the Welsh language while travelling around Wales.
35.
In 2021, Colin Jackson participated in the thirteenth series of Dancing on Ice.
36.
Colin Jackson was partnered with Klabera Komini and finished in 3rd Place.
37.
On 26 August 2017 Colin Jackson came out as gay in a clip on Swedish television promoting the series "Rainbow Heroes".