Athletics star and Olympic icon Colin Jackson – who has broken world records – says competing takes you “out of the norm” and now he wants to help up-and-coming stars
Olympic hero Colin Jackson has bravely spoken out on his fight with Bulimia, revealing how body dysmorphia has shaped his whole adult life.
The World Record breaker says that despite his success on the track and field, he has always struggled with his own identity – and now he is retired is determined to build a “safe space” for sports stars who may be in the same boat.
The 58-year-old, who now lives in Cardiff, has revealed how he used to binge eat, before making himself physically sick while at the peak of his career as he struggled with his body image.
He explained that seeing slim athletes around him, who were often underweight, left him “blind” to what was the norm.
The comparisons got to him, and he started suffering with bulimia.
He said: “When that’s your norm around you, then you get blinded by the norm.
“It’s just like having a beautiful view every single day of your life, you don’t see the beauty.
“It’s exactly the same in professional sport, in that sense, you’re sheltered.
“I describe it as living in fantasy land… you have no real understanding.”
As Colin approached his retirement in 2003, aged 36, he said he felt “anxious”, experienced panic attacks and initially questioned: “What am I going to do with my time now?’’
He admitted he would feel like he was having a “heart attack” after coming away from the sport, suffering panic attacks which felt “like he was dying”.
He continued: “It sounds bizarre – you make history in your sport, fantastic, no doubt about it, that’s brilliant – but every single year of my athletic career, we were always goal orientated.
“You had to achieve something in that year and, as long as you achieved what you set out to achieve, then that box was ticked.”
But taking away the goals, left him struggling – and now he has launched an app in the hope of helping others that may struggling.
He has partnered with SPAR for its new summer campaign, SPARk A Conversation, and is now preparing to launch his own app called Track, Field and Life this month.
Featuring sports results, advice and stories from other athletes on the app, Colin said he wants to create a “safe place” where people can communicate and “celebrate” one another.
He said: “For me, as an athlete, I was fortunate that people gave me time and they helped get the best from me, so now it’s my time to do exactly the same thing.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
