Posted: July 29, 2004

Athletics: Backley's Last Hurrah On Tap In London On Friday

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

(c) 2004 Track Profile all rights reserved TrackProfile.com

LONDON -- For British athletics fans, Friday's Norwich Union Super Grand Prix may provide a bittersweet moment as Steve Backley, one of Britain's most successful athletes, makes his final UK appearance. But Backley, among the world's finest javelin throwers over the past decade-and-a-half, said that during his final competition at the Crystal Palace, his training base since 1985, he'll try to keep the emotion of the moment in check.

"First thing first," he said. "I have a job to do there, and I'm very serious about my preparation for Athens. It would be nice to stop and smell the roses, but that'll have to wait."

Britain's only three-time Olympic medallist --he took the bronze in Barcelona 12 years ago, before successive silver medal performances in Atlanta and Sydney-- announced that he'll retire after next month's Olympic Games, but believes his chances for another medal are as good as anybody's.

"No one's really taking the event by the scruff of the neck," said Backley, who threw 81.25 earlier this month to capture his sixth national title. "No one's dominating like they have in previous years. It's wide open and I'm probably one of six or eight people who's got quite a good chance. You have to look at great championships performers as the people who will most like shine in that kind of environment." With three Commonwealth titles and a record-equalling four gold medals at the European Championships in addition to his Olympic medals, the 35-year-old Cambridge Harrier certainly qualifies as a big meet performer.

"It's going to be a good competition, which is what everybody wants. It's going to be a real battle."

By design, Backley has only had two competitions this year, and finds himself quite down on the yearly performance list. But he insists that that means little as the Olympics approach.

"It's more important to have a momentum coming into an Olympic Games than it is to have a certain level. Something to always look at is if people are improving. Your optimism improves, your confidence is on the up. And if your confidence is on the up, it can go to another level."

Even distance running legend Haile Gebrselassie offered his congratulations to Backley on the successful longevity of his career.

"I know it's not so easy to be a top athlete for 15 or 16 years. It's quite amazing. Sometimes, I'm jealous."

Backley said he hasn't given much thought to what he'll do with his life after the javelin competition concludes in Athens.

"I've never done anything else, so I don't know what I'll enjoy."

The TRACK PROFILE REPORT is a news and feature service published by the Track Profile News Service. In addition to regularly dispatched news, profile and interview features, subscribers also receive exclusive on-site updates from major national and international competitions, usually within 24 hours. Copyright (c) 2004 by Bob Ramsak and TRACK PROFILE. All rights reserved. Reproduction, republication, reposting and retransmission in ANY form is strictly prohibited without express permission from the editor.