Mystery Runner Revealed

Former Olympic, Commonwealth and World athlete Colin Jackson CBE is the 2015 Nos Galan Mystery Runner.

The double world champion, four times European champion, twice Commonwealth Games champion and world record-holder for almost 13 years is delighted to be representing the spirit of legendary runner Guto Nyth Bran at the world-famous event in Mountain Ash.

Colin Jackson CBE, who also made his mark at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, retired from competition in 2003 after the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, his 71st appearance for Britain in a spectacular athletics career.

Cllr Ann Crimmings, Cabinet Member for Environment, Leisure and Culture, and Chair of the Nos Galan Committee, said: “We are delighted to have Colin Jackson, such a world-renowned athlete, with us at our iconic event - an event which is known around the globe.

“Colin is one of the greatest athletes never to win an Olympic title, but he managed just about everything else in a remarkable track career in the 110m hurdles.

“We cannot think of a better person to represent the spirit of legendary Welsh runner Guto Nyth Bran, reputed to have been the fastest man on earth, than the fastest hurdler on earth for many years.”

Colin Jackson joined Cardiff Athletics club in 1981, the same year he played Under-15s cricket for Glamorgan.

Bitten by the athletics bug, he won the Welsh Junior 80m hurdles title on his debut and went on to take Gold at the 1986 World Junior Championships in Athens.

Moving up to the senior ranks, he claimed Silver at the 1986 Commonwealth Games and Silver at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

He went on to claim many other titles in his glittering career, including a Gold medal at the 1999 World Championships, held in Seville, Spain, after victory in the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart – the first British athlete to regain a World title.

In 1990, Colin Jackson began his stranglehold of the European crown, winning in Helsinki, prior to taking Gold at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria.

He spent 10 years as a world record holder, was a two-times Commonwealth Games champion and four-times European Champion, making him one of Wales’s most successful athletes of all time.

Colin Jackson also set the World record in the 110m hurdles in his first World Championships in Stuttgart in a remarkable time of 12.91secs – a world record that would stand for more than a decade, finally beaten by Liu Xiang in 2006 at the Super Grand Prix.

He also claimed the Indoor World record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.30secs in Germany on 1994 and also won the 60m sprint in 6.49secs, setting a new European record.

Both records remained unbeaten for five years and from August 29, 1993 and February 9, 1995, Colin Jackson won 44 races consecutively.

He also won Gold at the 2002 Munich European Championships, extending his unbroken reign as European champion stretching back to 1990.

Colin Jackson ended his professional career as an athlete at the 2003 World Indoor Championships but continues to be actively involved in the sport.

A regular athletics presenter and commentator on both television and radio, he has also written three books.

Colin Jackson was awarded the MBE in 1990 for services to athletics. He received the OBE in 1999 and a CBE in 2003.

Born in Wales to Jamaican parents, Colin’s sister, actress Suzanne Packer, is best known for playing Tess Bateman in the long-running BBC TV series Casualty.