RUTHERFORD: I’LL BEAT CRITICS IN MY GARDEN

GREG RUTHERFORD wants to hold a prestigious long-jump competition in his own back garden ... but will ensure that his nemesis carl lewis is barred. old-timers lewis and Mike Powell have been highly critical of the standard of the long jump, with world-record holder Powell, 52, targeting a comeback for the Rio olympics because he believes he could still win gold. But Rutherford, who competes at the Great city Games in Manchester today, laughed off the idea. ‘That would be a hell of a scalp,’ Rutherford said. ‘If Mike and carl want to come back, I’ll welcome them and I’ll happily scalp them. ‘Mike has to be realistic, there are some very good jumpers in the US, as much as carl has stated otherwise. I think for someone of that age, and that amount of time away from the sport, it’s not going to happen, that’s a fact. ‘It’s nice that two of the greatest long jumpers in history know who I am, feel the need to put me down. It’s probably the biggest compliment I can get, I guess. Mike is normally pretty nice to me, so that’s fine. carl is a different kettle of fish altogether.’ Rutherford believes the waning popularity of athletics is down to a lack of fresh thinking. He will open the garden of his Woburn long-jump pit to the world’s best. ‘I’ll probably do it in September after the olympics with a field of six,’ he said. ‘The garden is two thirds of an acre, so it’s not tiny but it’s not massive. ‘The runway is on one side from the front to the very back. So it’s a 52-metre run-up and a proper nine-metre pit and the board is a metre behind it. ‘We are going to get a grandstand for maybe 50 or 100 people, put it right next to the runway pit and have a party in the garden. ‘I want to get funding behind it so the athletes can be paid. I can create something that I feel the rest of the sport isn’t doing. ‘I’ve only got one neighbour over the road, Barry, he’ll be having a whale of a time. I might invite Mike Powell but I don’t think I want carl lewis anywhere near my house.’ Rutherford, 29, has jumped over 8.30m twice this season and is confident of retaining his olympic title in Rio this summer. Great City Games in Manchester LIVE on BBC2 from 6pm today.