Olympian and 60 metres hurdle world record holder, Colin Jackson, says that Dancing on Ice is the most challenging thing he has ever done.
He made the revelation on Decathlon’s new The Power of Ten podcast, telling Olympic skier Graham Bell, another contestant on this year’s Dancing on Ice series, about the difficulties he has faced trying to master professional ice skating.
“It is the most challenging thing I’ve done by far…trying to learn to hold a body posture. And as you know yourself…you make one slight, slight turn too far to the left and your whole body goes in the direction and it is so, so precise. I have a huge respect for ice skaters from here on in, trust me.” – Colin Jackson
He added that taking part in the show has helped him during lockdown as it takes him “away from reality.”
Jackson has, in the years since retiring, become an important figurehead for diversity, inclusion and mental health. Talking about how important it is not to let vanity become obsessive following his struggles with bulimia, the 53 year old revealed: “This is the real important thing, never make those things become obsessive, because when they become obsessive, then they come destructive as well.”
He continued: “You can have that passion about it and that sense of like, OK, I want to achieve that. This is what I want to be. But please, please, please never make it obsessive because that’s why I fell down that path…of bulimia. It never really leaves you but now I can control things much better…”
Jackson has always talked openly about the challenges he has faced throughout his career in relation to race and his sexuality and admits that he has felt that there is a requirement for minorities to work harder for success.
“I think sometimes people have got to remember…that when you’re black in the Western world, you’re a minority…We’re not being oversensitive, we’re just trying to be equal… we don’t really want to feel that we need to work any harder than anybody else to get the success. [It’s the] same in the world of sport, I guess. I went to athletics because athletics seemed to be a sport that accepted black people to be successful.” – Colin Jackson
Speaking further about coming out as gay, he revealed the positive impact he has been able to have on young people in sport, admitting: “I got lots of messages from youngsters…you don’t realise when you do something like that, how you can really influence other people’s lives in such a positive manner. And that was really important in the end to do.”
The Decathlon Podcast is available to stream or download via Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts and all other major podcasting channels.
Dancing on Ice returns to ITV later this month.
