Olympic gold medallist and Youth Sport Trust Ambassador Jason Gardner can rightly be considered one of the very best sprinters to have represented the United Kingdom. 

The "Bath Bullet" is one of only three Britons ever to break the magic sub-10 second barrier over 100 metres - and the only one never to have failed a drugs test - while he also boasts the ultimate prize of an Olympic gold medal after his blistering start in the 4x100m relay at the Athens 2004 Games helped bring the British team victory ahead of the hot favourites, the United States, featuring the former Olympic champion and world record holder Maurice Greene.

Add to that two World Championship medals, three World Championship indoor medals over 60m and give European Championship indoor titles over the same distance, including four gold medals, and Gardener's credentials stack favourably well against the majority of the world’s top sprinters over the last two decades.

But not all of them.

For on August 16, 2008, at the Bird’s Nest Stadium; one man from Jamaica leisurely turned up at the Beijing Olympics and instantaneously turned world of sprinting on its head, an event Gardener recalls only too well.

"I was very fortunate to be in the Bird’s Nest stadium on that fateful night," Gardiner told me from his home just outside Bath.

"I was actually right on the finish line just 30 or so metres away and I was having a fantastic time as the atmosphere in the stadium was electric.

"I was excited as the guys lined up on the blocks as it was great to be watching a 100m final with no regrets.

"I didn't miss being on the line as I know how hard all the athletes there had to work to get there and it wasn't like I was watching the final after having been knocked out in the semi-final.

"So it was a great feeling to be able to sit back and just watch a sprint final as spectator and not as an athlete.

And at nearly 30m away from the finish line, Gardener was nearly as close to Usain Bolt as the seven other competing athletes were when the phenomenon crossed the finish line.

"I remember the gun going off and the Usain absolutely flying ahead of a world-class field.

"Then, with the race was won at around the 70m mark, he simply started celebrating as he strolled across the finish line in a new world record.

"It was unbelievable to watch what he did in person and when I saw that race and saw the time he had run, I was utterly flabbergasted.

"Following on from that race, it wasn’t that surprising to see what he did in the 200 metres and the relay later that Games and what he did in Berlin [at the 2009 World Championships] a year later when he smashed both sprint world records again.

"He has changed the rules of sprinting and while there use to be athletes like me on the 100m start line who were very serious and athletes who use to aggressively prowl up and down like Maurice Greene and Dwain Chambers; Usain just jokes around and now everyone is starting to copy him.

"I think Usain has changed the face of the sport and he has certainly surpassed the boundaries of what I thought I would see a human being achieve in my life time.

"With the title of ‘the world’s fastest man’ he has cross-over appeal so that even people not interested in athletics or even sport want to watch him and he has a fan-base that spreads across the world.

"He transcends the sport and after high-profile drug cases have tarnished athletics and left people disillusioned with the sport, Usain has almost single-handedly restored the credibility of it."



Looking ahead towards London 2012, Gardener believes that perhaps the biggest obstacle preventing Bolt from retaining his Olympic crown is in fact Bolt himself.

"You have to ask what the motivation for Bolt is now that he has achieved practically everything in the sport.

"He is the triple Olympic Champion, triple world champion and the world record holder in the 100, 200 and 4x100m relay.

"What else does he want to do?

"That is the key question but if he still wants to keep breaking records and is motivated to do so; he will prove very difficult to stop in the coming years."

However, Gardener does feel there is perhaps a challenge to Bolt’s domination.

"I have got to mention Tyson Gay, " he said.

"With Usain about, many forget just how good Tyson is.

"He ran a phenomenal time of 9.77 in Berlin and then bettered it to match Bolt’s Beijing time of 9.69 seconds at the end of last season.

"Tyson is an absolutely phenomenal athlete and don’t be surprised if he goes on to provide a real challenge to Usain in the coming season."

Gardner - perhaps surprisingly - also tipped young British prospect Simeon Williamson to become a major player in the sprint division.

He said: "At this stage, it is not fair to put Simeon in the same category as Bolt and Gay because he hasn’t yet broken the 10 second barrier so he is around half-a-second behind those guys which is huge in sprinting terms.

"But he impressively beat Dwain Chambers at the UK Championships in Birmingham last year which was a fantastic achievement and now he has moved to Jamaica to train with Bolt and co which seems like the place to be if you’re a sprinter right now.

"He is only 23 so he is still very young and once he breaks that 10 second barrier - which I am sure he will - he can go on to do great things and I think London 2012 could come at just the right time for him."

Talking of London 2012, Gardner (pictured) said he is delighted to see the form of British athletics improving at just the right time for the Games and feels that the Berlin 2009 World Championships signalled the start of a turn around in the fortunes of British athletics.

"Prior to Berlin, we had been going through a slump for far too long and relying on the old guard for any decent talking points in athletics over the last decade.

"It has been hard for many to accept that our former genuine medal contenders like Linford Christie, Colin Jackson, Sally Gunnell, Jonathan Edwards, Denise Lewis and our 4x100 metre and 4x400m relays teams of the past had gone.

"That was a golden generation for British athletics and once it stopped, things dried up for Britain in terms of medals.

"But a lot of money has been pumped into UK Athletics and it is great to see some of these guys and girls coming good on their fantastic talent.

"It was great to see Jessica Ennis and Philips Idowu claim their medals at the start of the Championships and I think that really inspired the rest of the team to go on and do well.

"There is a little more resolve about the team now and they are getting the British public interested in athletics again which is great to see."

Gardener also feels that the popularity of athletics in the United Kingdom will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

"A combination of factors is making people in Britain excited in athletics again.

"Obviously the fact that Britain is doing well in the sport again and that London hosting the 2012 are huge pluses and then there is obviously Usain and what he is doing for the sport here and around the world so the future looks bright."

As for Gardner’s future; he is happy to pass on his wealth of experience to future generations of British athletes and believes that his work as an Ambassador for Youth Sport Trust will allow him to do just that.

Gardener said: "I know how difficult it is being a talented youngster [Gardner was a world junior champion at just 18] and of the overbearing pressure and expectation that it can bring.

"I also know how difficult the transition from juniors to seniors is and when I first started my sprint career; if I wanted to be the best in Britain I had to be the best in the world because Linford Christie was the main man at the time so that put even more pressure on me.

"At that time, it would have been priceless for me to talk to an athlete who has been there and done it all and whose experience and knowledge I could have learned from.

"That is why I am passionate about my role for Youth Sport Trust as if I can give young kids advice that will go on to help them in the future, that is fantastic.

"There are lots of difficulties for young athletes with school, competition and socialising and if you make it as an athlete, there is the temptation of drugs and things like that too so if by listening to me these guys can go on and make the right decisions for themselves; that is crucial.

"You can’t buy experience at top level sport, it is absolutely priceless and you should make the most of it at every opportunity.

"And if young athletes can make the most of my experience, I will be very happy."

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames.biz