Live webchat with Colin Jackson, Olympic athlete and commentator, TODAY, 23rd May, at 12noon

[RachelMumsnet]

Olympic athlete, commentator and Strictly dancer Colin Jackson is hurdling his way over to MN Towers on Wednesday (23 May) to join us for a webchat at noon.

Representing Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became world champion three times, went undefeated at the European Championships for 12 years and was a two-time Commonwealth champion. His world record of 12.91sec for the 110m hurdles stood for over a decade, and he is also the 60m hurdles world record holder.

Colin will be commentating on the Olympics for the BBC this summer.

Join him next Wednesday at midday or post a question in advance on this thread.

Colin is working with Mission Foods to highlight the range of sporting options for kids, from traditional sports to more marginalised sports, and to show that giving kids a chance to find a sport they like and enjoy is key to getting children to be more active.

[ColinJackson]

@changer22

I am very excited about the Olympics but... having loved and laughed with Twenty Twelve, I fear that it might be a bit close to the truth. I'm concerned that there might be people like Siobhan Sharpe and Graham Hitchins running the show.

Can you please reassure me that London 2012 will be seen as one of the fantastic Olympics like Sydney 2000, and not the damp squib that was Atlanta 1996?

Thanks.

Yes, we can assure you. It is going to be incredible and the Olympic Games will be run the London way. All Olympic Games are very unique, and ours will be memorable for the whole of the United Kingdom. 2012 will capture the whole nation, from the Queen's Jubilee to Wimbledon to the Euro and finally the Olympics, so the nation will be smiling.

[undertheduvet]

oops how embarrasing meant michael johnson ;-)

[ColinJackson]

@fridascruffs

Hello Colin,
I'm so glad you're Welsh.

Thank you - I was always proud to represent Wales, and still am. Even though I don't compete

[bebee]

Great that you could come to MN.
What advice would you give on injuries. I run about 3 times a week about 4-5 miles at a time and have endless tweaks and niggles - but if I stop and rest I feel i lose all my fitness quite quickly (I'm in my 40's and came late to running - not a natural runner at all). Is it Ok to keep going or should you always wait til it stops hurting (if I did that I'd never start again...)
Thanks

[InWithTheITCrowd]

Hi Colin. Fantastic to have you here. Another massive Olympics fan - cannot wait for this summer.
My son is only 3 but a fantastic swimmer. We are lucky that we have a swimming coach in the family, and he is getting some excellent early input.
As he grows up, I want to not push him, but to listen to his own ideas on whether he should pursue it. Would you recommend (at this early age) sticking to one sport, that he already excels in, as we seem to be doing, or ensuring that he has a more rounded experience of other sports too? I don't want to dilute what he does, but I don't want to over-push him either.

Also got a bit of a crush on you. I know that's not relevant, but I had to take the opportunity to tell you!

[ColinJackson]

@bebee

Great that you could come to MN.
What advice would you give on injuries. I run about 3 times a week about 4-5 miles at a time and have endless tweaks and niggles - but if I stop and rest I feel i lose all my fitness quite quickly (I'm in my 40's and came late to running - not a natural runner at all). Is it Ok to keep going or should you always wait til it stops hurting (if I did that I'd never start again...)
Thanks

To deal with injuries, unfortunately, the best thing is to rest and fully recover. Otherwise you can end up with chronic problems. Invest in a good massage every week and that will certainly help you recover and put you on the right road once again. I suffer from bad knees, and had seven operations, all for the love of sport , but even as a world-class athlete I realised that unless I rested, I was never going to be completely healthy again.

[ColinJackson]

@InWithTheITCrowd

Hi Colin. Fantastic to have you here. Another massive Olympics fan - cannot wait for this summer.
My son is only 3 but a fantastic swimmer. We are lucky that we have a swimming coach in the family, and he is getting some excellent early input.
As he grows up, I want to not push him, but to listen to his own ideas on whether he should pursue it. Would you recommend (at this early age) sticking to one sport, that he already excels in, as we seem to be doing, or ensuring that he has a more rounded experience of other sports too? I don't want to dilute what he does, but I don't want to over-push him either.

Also got a bit of a crush on you. I know that's not relevant, but I had to take the opportunity to tell you!

Never push him, but if he wants to try other sports, don't discourage him. I played cricket, basketball, rugby, football and running and enjoyed them all. I loved athletics the most, in the end, and stuck to that and that was my chosen sport. So let your young son enjoy!

And thanks for the crush

[Bizageza]

Can you really make a child (or and adult) who is not naturally a fast runner - to be a winner (not olympics - just get into a sports team now and again). I'm not sporty but tried hard and scraped into B teams. My husband was county standard at a couple of sports. Sadly our older two kids seem to have inherited my genes, but his love of sports. Of the three of them the youngest is a natural athlete/gymnast/ swimmer - the other 2 have no natural aptitude at all, and it's hard to know when you actually call it a day and say find another hobby or whether with coaching and enthusiasm they could come - if not first on sports day at least not last?

Any ideas/ tips??
btw I've always been a crap runner and no matter how much I try I can't get faster...so obviously it's all my fault!!

[Katn]

Hi Colin! I was wondering if you have an idea of how many hours a week you spent in training when you were gearing up for the Olympics? What's the most you've spent training in a week?

[Princesslovelyboo]

Hi Colin, I have been going to the gym 5-6 times a week it is a mix of gym, spinning and boxercise, I was using the treadmill and had managed to achieve 3.5k in 20 mins (am overweight this is huge for me and i did 2 min run and 1 min fast walk) however I got shin splints and I am finding it vary hard to start running again the fear of it recurring is part of the problem as well as motivation. how do you keep going?

[sleepychunky]

Oooh Colin answered my question - thank you so much!

[ColinJackson]

@PrematurelyAirconditioned

I snuck a peak at Colin training for the Olympics Dancing On Ice special at Brixton Ice Rink a while ago gazza - he was looking v good (surprise surprise).

Oh dear! I'm under pressure now! But I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I can truly say, ice dancing is the hardest thing I've ever taken on.

[carriemumsnet]

V disappointed by injury question. Another 40 something runner - and everything hurts most of the time but I love it. Someone suggested better trainers could help. I change mine lots and always buy the best I can afford, but never know how much of the shop talk - videoing on treadmills and standing on special pads - is science and how much twaddle. I also have a running friend who spent a fortune at a podiatrist? What would you recommend - how should you choose your runners?

Thanks for coming in to MN towers - Wearing my running gear in your honour:)

[ColinJackson]

@Katn

Hi Colin! I was wondering if you have an idea of how many hours a week you spent in training when you were gearing up for the Olympics? What's the most you've spent training in a week?

I trained five hours a day of physical activity, and there was an hour and a half of massage therapy directly after training, so as you can see there was a lot of time spent in just basic preparation for the Olympics. That was a consistent thing.

[ColinJackson]

@Princesslovelyboo

Hi Colin, I have been going to the gym 5-6 times a week it is a mix of gym, spinning and boxercise, I was using the treadmill and had managed to achieve 3.5k in 20 mins (am overweight this is huge for me and i did 2 min run and 1 min fast walk) however I got shin splints and I am finding it vary hard to start running again the fear of it recurring is part of the problem as well as motivation. how do you keep going?

With shin splints, the only thing you can do is rest. It will take a bit of time but if you can work with the pain, you still can do things like cross training, spin classes, but nothing where you're jumping up and down. The running is definitely a no-no until it's better.

[ColinJackson]

@carriemumsnet

V disappointed by injury question. Another 40 something runner - and everything hurts most of the time but I love it. Someone suggested better trainers could help. I change mine lots and always buy the best I can afford, but never know how much of the shop talk - videoing on treadmills and standing on special pads - is science and how much twaddle. I also have a running friend who spent a fortune at a podiatrist? What would you recommend - how should you choose your runners?

Thanks for coming in to MN towers - Wearing my running gear in your honour:)

It's vital that you choose a pair of shoes to match the amount of work you do in them. If you do heavy mileage, you need something with a more solid base and a good cross-trainer is best if you don't spend that much time running. Always go to a shoe specialist, who can advise you on which is the most comfortable and practical for your needs. Flashy is not always the best! And nor is expensive. They will advise you on what is right. Look at some Japanese companies (they spend a lot of time on development of running shoes). Good luck!

[mumeuro]

Hi Colin sorry if this is cheeky but do you find your years' of intensive training and competing have taken their toll on your body? And do you still get the urge to run over the odd hurdle today (and if so are you able to do it?!).

[ColinJackson]

@Bizageza

Can you really make a child (or and adult) who is not naturally a fast runner - to be a winner (not olympics - just get into a sports team now and again). I'm not sporty but tried hard and scraped into B teams. My husband was county standard at a couple of sports. Sadly our older two kids seem to have inherited my genes, but his love of sports. Of the three of them the youngest is a natural athlete/gymnast/ swimmer - the other 2 have no natural aptitude at all, and it's hard to know when you actually call it a day and say find another hobby or whether with coaching and enthusiasm they could come - if not first on sports day at least not last?

Any ideas/ tips??
btw I've always been a crap runner and no matter how much I try I can't get faster...so obviously it's all my fault!!

I was never the best in my school at any of the sports that I enjoyed, but the emphasis is on that word 'enjoyed'. I never ever in my wildest dreams thought I'd become a champion. Working hard and believing in myself, I think, can make a difference. Sport is an individual choice and it's for the person taking part to enjoy the most. So whichever sport your children enjoy, even if they're not very good at it, if they still enjoy it, encourage them.

[Princesslovelyboo]

thank you Colin - you are vair naice!!!!

[RachelMumsnet]

So sorry we have been deep in conversation with Colin and forgot to sign off . Thanks so much Colin for joining us today and gearing us up for the olympics. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions today.

[ColinJackson]

Thanks for the great questions. Let's hope that the UK is inspired and can be wrapped up in sport this summer. I hope to return soon. Cheers

[thebestisyettocome]

Thanks very much for answering my question and for being such an interesting guest.
I look forward to passing on your advice to my dc

[Ishoes]

I cant believe I got flowers off colin jackson-that has made my day!! Thanks colin for taking the time to come on here-will look forward to seeing you in tight lycra on ice

Thanks mnqh-now can we please have miranda hart

[jaquelinehyde]

What a lovely, lovely man! He can come back again.

[RachelMumsnet]

@Ishoes

I cant believe I got flowers off colin jackson-that has made my day!! Thanks colin for taking the time to come on here-will look forward to seeing you in tight lycra on ice

Thanks mnqh-now can we please have miranda hart

We are honestly on it and though we can't promise anything at this stage, do watch this space in the Autumn.

at your flowers - he was such a lovely guest, we didn't want him to leave.