by Jamie Baulch
I went with Colin Jackson to the Brit awards in 1997. Colin and Vinnie Jones were giving an award to the Manic Street Preachers. I dressed for the event in Armani and D&G, and everyone said I looked the business. All the celebrities of the time had been invited and our table included Louise Redknapp. Even Mrs Merton was there! Suddenly, across the room, I saw Lauryn Hill, the singer from the Fugees. I was a massive fan and Colin, Linford and I had seen them perform in concert in Australia a month before. I couldn’t believe she was in the same room as me and, like a schoolboy, pointed her out to Colin. Colin was much more used to show business events than I was and his reaction was less excitable. He suggested we go over to meet her and I followed like a lapdog. Colin introduced himself to Wyclef Jean who was with Lauryn. She looked annoyed at being interrupted but then she turned to me and exclaimed, ‘You’re the 400 metres runner!’ I couldn’t speak. All I could think of was that she knew who I was! She started talking to me about how much she had loved track and field when she was in school and her favourite distance was 400 metres. I couldn’t believe it! She knew my races but, more importantly, she knew who I was! It was one of the best moments in my life.
Later on, Colin went off to present his award and I ended up backstage with the legend Sir Tim Rice. I looked at the television backstage which was screening the event and couldn’t believe it as Prince came up on stage. Sir Tim Rice had to reassure me it was live – I thought it must be an old programme showing! Two of my heroes in one evening was just too much! I had always had posters of Prince all over my walls. I went outside to wait next to the ramp near the stage and he walked past me, surrounded by huge bodyguards. Like a king, they put a long black coat around his shoulders which he shrugged off regally. He put his guitar down and we stood feet apart from each other. He looked at me. I opened my mouth to try to speak but the words just wouldn’t come out. I was totally star-struck and he went off somewhere else. I immediately phoned up Susannah, leaving a message on her answer machine that made no sense. I could have kicked myself for not finding the voice to say anything to him at all.
As an athlete, I was an entertainer and loved showing off to the crowd. When I retired I wanted to feel the same buzz. Athletes are modern day entertainers, strutting and parading before their races, especially the sprinters. It was natural that I would do some television work. I was part of a television show called Energize and I found myself having to learn new skills to become a host for the show. It was a sports programme for young people and each week I tested a new sport with them and brought on champions like Dennis Bergkamp, the footballer, to talk about their sport. I also appeared on A Question of Sport on a regular basis and They Think It’s All Over.
Appearing on the Big Breakfast with Denise van Outen was great fun! I had to be interviewed on the bed, which was quite convenient as I had been out late the night before, and thought it a good idea to get forty winks before filming. Suddenly the light came on to say we were live and she began asking me questions about my athletics and I was still half asleep! I also competed in Superstars for BBC1 and came third, so I’m very proud of that when you see the other athletes who took part, such as Sir Chris Hoy, Amir Khan, Alan Baxter, and of course, Colin Jackson. I keep having to test myself as I feel challenges are important and I’ve never been one to take the safe route. I also took part in a reality programme on BBC2, Safari School, where I joined a game reserve and learnt how to become a ranger alongside other celebrities from Holby City, Neighbours and Bad Girls. The school was on the Shamwari game reserve in South Africa and the challenge was to survive out in the bush using the skills we had been taught. There were some scary moments when I wished I was back on the track. Once, we were cut off by a herd of elephants who wanted to stampede us. The secret we had been taught in the bush is never to run. We all moved briskly which became a jog and finally a run and on camera you can see the fear on our faces as we made it to the jeep just in time. In another incident, we realised the difference between meeting lions in the zoo and being placed in their territory and their environment. Again, we knew not to turn away from a lion’s gaze, but it was very hard as they caught sight of us and started walking slowly towards us. I suddenly felt serious fear, being close to such a powerful animal with such presence. My claim to fame during the competition was that we had to make a fire and cook venison for a well-known chef from South Africa. I cooked for the boys’ team and our meat won for the best flavours. I knew my mum would be really proud of me for that!
Another challenge was taking part in Cirque de Celebrité on Sky television when I learnt to become a circus act. Again, I was competing against a range of other celebrities like the model Emma B, Kenzie from Blazin’ Squad and Mark Bright, the footballer. Each week we were live and learning a new circus art. It was extremely scary, even more so when I learnt that in the first week Simon Cowell was in the audience looking up at me!
I had to juggle and spin and move acrobatically, on top of a large ball. We were taught by Carmen who was a very hard taskmaster but when you got something right she was quick to offer praise. I really practised because I knew from my days in sport that only practice makes perfect. One stunt I had to do was on a trapeze, high up in the air. Shortly into the routine, I got into difficulties and I wasn’t able to follow the procedure they had taught me. I wasn’t able to kick wide enough and suddenly I could feel the trapeze giving way and I was hurtling to the floor. There was no safety net, just one man beneath holding a safety rope which took my weight. As the rope spun through his hands it finally became taut about a metre from the ground. I had fallen from a huge height and it completely unnerved me! I got a sense of just how dangerous circus acts are. The life may be exciting but it wasn’t for me. I was glad to come out in one piece. I have huge respect for anyone who works with circus arts. They have the balance and grace of some of the greatest athletes in the world and they put as much effort into their training, too.
Even though I have retired from professional sport, I still can’t leave sport totally. I was invited by Steve McNamara, Head Coach of the Bradford Bulls rugby league team, to work with them as a sprinting coach to improve their speed training, and enjoyed being part of a very different environment. I met with them at Odsal Stadium in Bradford and was genuinely excited to be given the chance to work using my skills in a different field. I gave motivational talks and mini-sprint sessions and they seemed to really welcome working in this way as a change.
I also enjoy coaching football projects, helping promising young footballers with their sprinting skills. I have worked with players from a number of different clubs from Cardiff City to Manchester City and I love seeing the difference I can make. Youngsters respond so well to trying something new. I tell them in my first session that starting a sprint is like a pilot about to take off. The trick is to keep low so that you always have a smooth take off and don’t jerk as you go into full speed. It’s surprising how effective little stories like this can be in getting a message across. It’s often the simple things that stick in the mind longest, and can really make a difference.
Chapter Nine
Blister Mister
Sport has been too much a part of my life for me to turn my back on it. When I retired, I started to work in the field of sports management but not in the usual way. I used my art skills from my school and college days and established a new style rugby calendar with the Welsh Rugby Union which enjoyed record sales. This led to further design consultancy work with them for the Six Nations programme covers. In 2006, I was asked to become the team attaché for the Wales Commonwealth Games team. I acted as a representative for Wales and felt incredibly proud to be given such an honour. As part of my role, I put together the team kit, to ensure that they not only felt like a team, but looked like a team as well. I brought in a designer clothing label team to make suits and organised everything, even down to the hair products!
I attended numerous functions and the highlight was to be given the task of making Welsh cakes for a lar
ge group of Australians in Melbourne at a food festival for the Games. I had to talk as I cooked – the talking wasn’t difficult, but following the recipe book at the same time was! I’d never cooked Welsh cakes before but a quick call to my mum back at home had put me on the right track.
I now manage Definitive Sports, a sports management company involved with current key athletes such as Wales and Ospreys rugby player Shane Williams, Olympic bronze medallist Tasha Danvers, 11-time Paralympic gold medallist Dave Roberts, the British, European and Commonwealth Champion hurdler Dai Greene and many more. I also enjoy working as a director of Superschools, an organisation which gets Olympic athletes into schools to exercise with kids and encourages them to participate in sport while raising their awareness of a healthy and active lifestyle. I see in the kids the same enthusiasm I had for sport at their age. I’m a consultant to the Jaguar Academy of Sport which features great sporting names like the cricketer Sir Ian Botham, and athletes such as Dame Kelly Holmes and Denise Lewis. I try to use the skills I learnt from my sport in my new career in business. The same ethics apply as far as I am concerned – train hard, work hard, focus on the job and get the result.
Many of these principles are included in the BBC’s project Raise your Game and it’s great for me to be an ambassador for this, linking up again with my ex-mentor Colin Jackson who leads the project. There are no short cuts in life, as in sport. You won’t succeed on the track if you’re lazy and it’s the same in life. In sport, you have to take risks but you have prepared your body well to do this. In business, if you prepare properly, the results will come. My years as part of a relay team have meant that I am used to working with and respecting others. As the great coaches always say: ‘There is no “I” in team.’
Recently, I was awarded an honorary fellowship by the University of Wales to mark my commitment to the people and community of south-east Wales. I consider it an amazing honour to be given the same award as Lord Kinnock and Sir Terry Matthews and I’m immensely proud that my family were able to share in this special day. Taking part in the awards ceremony, I realised how impressive it is to be a student and collect your reward for years of study. I didn’t go to university but I said in my speech how important it was to me to be recognised for my years of commitment and hard work in the world of athletic competition. I made everyone laugh when I gave my speech but I ended by saying that the degree really belonged to my mum and dad, my girlfriend and my two sons because of all that they have done for me to help make this happen.
I still love to train regularly and still set myself goals to achieve. In 2010 I was asked, as an Olympic athlete, to race against a horse at Kempton Park racecourse over 100 metres, earning £10,000 for charity. This was the first race of its kind and although Peopleton Brook, the race horse, certainly beat me, I loved doing it for Barnado’s Cymru and since then I have been made an official ambassador for the charity. This event gave me great personal satisfaction. It’s a way of raising money for a good cause and I’m one of the few who is mad enough to accept the challenge!
I love athletics. To make a living out of something you love doing it is very special. I wish the same for my sons so that they can feel as fulfilled and be as happy as I have been. My sons are free to do whatever they want to do and I want them to have choice. Both have their mum’s talent for drama and both have made starts at their own acting careers. I will be proud of them whatever they do. I just want them to be happy, and to be the best dad for them. They know that I will be there to support and encourage them to be the best they can be. I have learnt in my career that it pays to respect others and to give your best. And it’s important to look for opportunities to showcase what you have, rather than worrying about what everyone else has.
Probably the biggest lesson that I have learnt from sport is how to take defeat graciously and how to be humble when you are successful. But I have always believed that whatever you do, either in sport or in life, you should do it with a smile on your face. If you enjoy something you will make more of an effort to do it to the best of your ability. Always be yourself no matter how much pressure you get from those around you. A good friend of mine said to me, ‘You’re your own sun.’ I asked her what she meant and she said that I didn’t need a sun to make myself shine. I took that as the most wonderful compliment. I have always tried to share my positive attitude with those around me.
The gym for me now is a social place rather than my workplace. My competitive spirit isn’t quite lost though, as I have committed myself to enter for the London Marathon. My challenge is to beat Iwan Thomas. The old rivalry is still there between two Welshmen. My father used to say to me when I went out to compete: ‘Blister mister’, meaning give it all you’ve got. I hope I have done that and will continue to live life to the maximum. I may not run any more, but I’ll never slow down.
Great stories, great writers, great entertainment
Trouble on the Heath
Terry Jones
Accent Press
A comedy of Russian gangsters, town planners and a dog called Nigel.
Malcolm Thomas is not happy. The view he loves is about to be blocked by an ugly building. He decides to take action and forms a protest group. Then things go badly wrong and Malcolm finds himself running for his life. Along the way he gets mixed up with corrupt town planners, violent gangsters, and a kidnapped concert pianist. Malcolm starts to wonder if objecting to the building was such a good idea when he finds himself upside down with a gun in his mouth.
This hilarious story from Monty Python star, Terry Jones, will make you laugh out loud.
Great stories, great writers, great entertainment
Worlds Beyond Words
Alison Stokes
Accent Press
A collection of real-life stories from people who have improved their lives through better literacy.
Some people take the power of words for granted. But for the thousands of people who struggle with poor literacy, words can be scary things.
The men and women featured in this book have overcome their fears to improve their reading later in life.
Whether they are famous businessmen or sports stars, teenagers in care, middle-aged mums, young soldiers or refugees forced to flee bloodshed in their own home countries, they all share a common desire to learn. Their stories will inspire others to follow journeys of their own.
Great stories, great writers, great entertainment
Rugby Rivals: My Top 10 Players
Martin Williams
Accent Press
In his 15-year career as one of the most popular figures in Welsh rugby, Martyn Williams has played against some of the giants of the sport.
Known as ‘Nugget’ to the fans, Martyn has captained his country on many occasions and was a key player in two Welsh Grand Slam-winning campaigns.
In Rugby Rivals he picks his personal top ten players from all the world rugby stars he’s ever played against. From Martin Johnson and Shane Williams to Jonah Lomu and Richie McCaw he gives an insight into what makes them tick and reveals what they are really like off the pitch.
Rugby Rivals is a compelling read that will provoke debate among rugby fans and provide a great starting point to anyone interested in the game.
Great stories, great writers, great entertainment
Life’s New Hurdles
Colin Jackson
Accent Press
Colin Jackson is one of the greatest athletes that Britain has ever produced. He was in the world top ten for 16 years, and was world number 1 for two of them. He set seven European and Commonwealth and nine UK records, and he still holds the world record for indoor hurdling.
In 2003 Colin retired from athletics in front of an adoring home crowd. Then real life began. In Life’s New Hurdles Colin describes the shock of adjusting to sudden change. How would he manage without the strict routine of training and competing that had been his life since the age of 17? Would he forever long to be back on the track? And how satisfying wou
ld his new career be as a sports presenter and television personality? From athletics commentating to Strictly Come Dancing, Colin describes the challenges and joys of starting a whole new life.
About the Author
Jamie Baulch was born in Nottingham, adopted by Welsh parents and brought up in Newport, South Wales. From an early age he was one of the best in his school at sport. Discovered by his teacher, Mr Atkins, Jamie became one of the most recognisable athletes in Welsh and World athletics. His first medal was gold in the men’s 4 × 100m relay in the 1991 European Junior Championships. He has won five World Championship medals, one Olympic Games medal, two European Championship medals, two Commonwealth Games medals and two IAAF World Cup medals. Recently, he was awarded a World Championship gold medal as part of the 4 × 400m relay team after the Americans were disqualified for using drugs. He retired in 2005.