Jackson upset by mooted plans

COLIN Jackson insists he is offended by new plans from European Athletics which could strip him of his world record.

The 50-year-old’s 1994 indoor 60 metre hurdles world record of 7.30 seconds is in jeopardy after proposals from European Athletics.

All pre-2005 records could be rewritten under the new rules, which need to be ratified by governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

European Athletics announced on Monday that its ruling council had accepted a project team’s recommendations to overhaul the record lists and eliminate any doping doubts surrounding performances.

It said it would now forward them to world governing body the IAAF “with the recommendation the two organisations co-ordinate the implementation of new record ratification rules”.

European Athletics taskforce chair Pierce O’Callaghan, who led the project, has apologised to those athletes who could lose legitimate records but Jackson is upset.

He said “What they’re saying is they don’t trust the performances of the majority of people before 2005.

“When they’re talking like that, and to me that’s what they’re saying, it’s really quite offensive when I’ve put so much time and effort into my career.

“They think it’s OK they can come up with a statement like that and it’s fine. It doesn’t quite go that way, it can’t go that way.

“Many people who have been encouraging them previously, they’re now being offended, myself, Paula Radcliffe, Jonathan Edwards.

“You can never erase history. The athletes have a legacy which should stand unless they are guilty and are found doping. I’m still getting my brain around it.”

If the proposals are accepted by the IAAF, a world record would only be recognised if it meets three specific criteria.

It must have been achieved at a competition on a list of approved international events where the highest standards of officiating and technical equipment can be guaranteed.

The athlete must also have been subject to an agreed number of doping control tests in the months leading up to it and the doping control sample taken after the record was stored and available for retesting for 10 years.

Jackson, who won 110m hurdles silver at the Seoul Olympics, also questioned where the punishments will stop.