Athletics: GOLDEN GLOW WILL FOLLOW US TO SYDNEY.SPRINTER Darren Campbell For former Reading Midfielder, see . Darren Campbell (born September 12 1973 in Moss Side, Manchester, England) is a retired English sprint athlete. He competed in the 100 m and 200 m, as well as the 4 x 100 m relay. believes the European Cup glory can inspire every British athlete at this summer's Olympic Games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. . Campbell says the whole sport has been given a huge lift by Britain's success at Gateshead, and the British team can take Sydney by storm. Britain's first ever European Cup victory in 1989 had a similar effect when team captain Linford Christie Linford Christie OBE (born April 2, 1960) is a former athlete, and the only English man to win Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European 100 m gold medals. He still holds the UK record. helped lift athletics athletics or track and field also track-and-field games Variety of sport competitions held on a running track and on the adjacent field. It is the oldest form of organized sports, having been a part of the ancient Olympic Games from c. out of the doldrums doldrums (dŏl`drəmz) or equatorial belt of calms, area around the earth centered slightly north of the equator between the two belts of trade winds. and on to Olympic glory in Barcelona three years later. Campbell, voted the European Cup's top athlete after his 100 metres victory, said: "We can all go to the Olympics in great spirits and we've shown what we can do. "There's a great spirit in the camp now and, hopefully, more athletes can draw confidence from what happened in Gateshead. "We all know what happened to Linford's career after the European Cup win 11 years ago and let's hope this can inspire others to achieve great things. "This sort of team success shows we've got real strength in depth and a few athletes should feel confident of doing well in the Olympics. "I'm positive that the European Cup can really lift everyone for the Olympics this summer, and suddenly there's a great buzz throughout the whole sport. "We all know that football comes first in Britain, but this success should give the whole nation a big lift and true confidence for the Olympics." Campbell was also one of the patched-up heroes after _ a staggering 16 first-choice athletes pulled out of Gateshead, which makes Britain's victory even more impressive. Campbell, who is coached by Christie, only got 20 minutes' notice that he would be taking injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. Jason Gardener's place. He is now hoping his precious win will help him get back on track following two years of under-achievement after winning the European 100m title. Campbell added: "I always felt it was my destiny to run in the 100m and I feel I can build on this for the Olympics. "I'm fed up with being the reserve. I feel I'm back to my best and what happened in the European Cup shows anything is possible. "I genuinely feel that I can reach the Olympic final and when you get that far, anything is possible. "I don't believe that the Americans are unbeatable and Maurice Greene's recent form shows he is not invincible." The European Cup victory was all the more impressive because of the star withdrawals, including names like Jonathan Edwards, Iwan Thomas Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE (born January 5, 1974 in Farnborough (London Borough of Bromley) is an Olympic Athlete, who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 m, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. and Colin Jackson
Colin Ray Jackson CBE (born February 18, 1967 in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh sprint and hurdling athlete of Jamaican and distant . But the trio all have competitions lined up for this weekend in foreign countries, which has only added to UK Athletics' frustration at their no-show. However, Campbell believes no-one should have to be paid to wear the British vest. He added: "The Greek team received pounds 800 per point, but we didn't get any incentives. "What we showed in Gateshead was sheer passion and pride. "It's not all about earning a living. It is the honour Honour or honor (see spelling differences), is the evaluation of a person’s trustworthiness and social status based on that individual's espousals and actions. in representing Britain." |
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