Jason GARDENER

Known as the “Bath Bullet” because of his hometown and his starting ability, Jason Gardener foreshadowed his Olympic triumph of 2004 when, a decade earlier, he and fellow Olympic relay team-mate Marlon Devonish were part of the British team that won the World Junior title in 1994. Most of Gardener’s successes came indoors as an archetypal 60 m specialist and his explosive starts took him in victory in four European Indoor Championships between 2000 and 2007 and gained World Indoor honours in 2004. Although he was AAA 100 m champion on four occasions and became only the second British sprinter to break the ten second barrier, he was not the same force outdoors as he was indoors. His best performance as an individual was probably reaching the final of the 100 m at the 1999 World Championships. As a relay runner he was invariably used as a lead-off runner and. In addition to his Olympic triumph, he won silver and bronze medals respectively at the 1999 and 2005 World Championships. He retired in 2007 and pursued a career in the media working for Eurosport, Sky Sports and Channel 4 in the UK.

Personal Best: 100 – 9.98 (1999).