Olympian Colin Jackson shares mental health, body dysmorphia and bulimia struggles as he prepares to launch new app

Olympian Colin Jackson has shared his struggles with mental health, body dysmorphia and bulimia as he prepares to launch his new app to create a “safe place” in the sporting community.

Colin, 58, who lives in Cardiff, Wales, had an illustrious sporting career, winning medals at Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European level, and breaking multiple world records – one of which stood for 13 years.

However, behind the scenes, Colin said he was restricting his food intake while competing and struggled with bulimia – where people binge-eat and then purge the food from their body to try to stop themselves gaining weight.

Moreover, as he approached retirement in 2003, aged 36, he said he started experiencing panic attacks, which felt like he was having “a heart attack” and caused him to “burst into sweat”.

With time and support, and by learning “tools” such as breathing, Colin has overcome many of these challenges and now wants to “give back” and encourage more open conversations, particularly among men.

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.

With 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.

“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,” Colin told PA Real Life.

“If it culminates in something that’s good, and it makes men talk, it makes people across the board look after themselves in a healthy manner, and I was part of that journey, I can have a sense of pride.

“I can happily go to my grave, knowing that, do you know what? You were successful there, and you did make a difference.”

Colin “always loved” sport growing up but never saw himself pursuing a career as a professional athlete.

He excelled at many sports at school, before later focusing on athletics – and he said he enjoyed the “play element” of sport most of all.

“It was something I did as a kid and I had fun doing it, so that’s where my real sporting background began,” he explained.

Colin said he knew he had an “innate ability” and, by nurturing this, his skills improved rapidly.

Along with the challenge of sport itself, he enjoyed setting “personal goals” every year and was determined to achieve them.

He won his first major medal, a silver, aged 19, in the 110m hurdles at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, and he won a silver medal at his first Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988, followed by European and Commonwealth gold medals in 1990.

He later set a world record of 12.91 seconds in the 110-metre hurdles in 1993, which stood for 13 years.

Talking about his sporting highlights, however, Colin explained: “I’ve never really had one.

“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.”

Colin explained that people are often chasing the next achievement, the next milestone, and they do not “appreciate what (they’re) achieving at this moment in time”.

While competing, he said he often compared himself to other athletes and struggled with body dysmorphia, believing he looked “horrendous”.

He explained that athletes were often underweight while competing and he was “blinded by the norm” of this, and he started restricting his calorie intake, later becoming bulimic.

Looking back at photos now, he recognises that he was in “really good shape” and he wants to open up more conversations on these topics to help others.

“When that’s your norm around you, then you get blinded by the norm,” he explained.

“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?”

However, he soon realised how “blessed” and “action-packed” those 36 years were, and he knew he had to “stop worrying about what’s around the corner”.

“Don’t be so anxious,” he said.

“Life, whatever path is laid out for you, you will go down.”

He added: “If I was going to give advice to anybody who’s going to retire from their sport now, I’d say, don’t be forced out of your sport.

“You will know when you’re ready and take the step… and don’t think you’re going through it on your own.”

With many people putting “time and effort in to help (him) become a champion”, Colin knew he wanted to “give that back” to others post-retirement.

He has since gone on to mentor other athletes and become a sports commentator and presenter and, most recently, he has partnered with SPAR for its new summer campaign, SPARk A Conversation.

A new study from AF Blakemore, the largest SPAR wholesaler in the UK, has revealed 84% of British men say they would rather fire up the BBQ than open up about how they are truly feeling.

SPAR is also partnering with four local mental health charities – Ways for Wellbeing, Mental Health Matters Wales, Tough Enough to Care and YESS – and has created a tip sheet, with advice on how to create “small, meaningful moments”, such as keeping conversations light initially, to encourage people to open up, and the importance of listening.

With Colin keen to talk about topics including sport and mental health, he has created his own app called Track, Field and Life, which is launching this month.

He said the app will feature advice, fast updates on sporting events and stories from other athletes, and he wants to encourage “celebration”, not criticism.

Colin acknowledges that we lose too many men, too young, because they are not in the right mental health space – and he said he is hoping to change this.

“We try to get everybody who’s involved in athletics to actually find a safe place for them,” Colin said.

“I want people to be part of an amazing family and truly connect. I have created something that connects everybody in our family of sport.”

To find out more about the campaign, visit: spar.co.uk/spark-the-bbq.

For advice and support on eating disorders, visit Beat’s website here: beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/get-help-for-myself/i-need-support-now/helplines.