Darren Campbell

Darren Campbell was the outstanding European junior sprinter of the early 90s. He won both sprints at the 1991 European Junior Championships and was only denied the same double at the 1992 World Juniors by the future superstar Ato Boldon. Unlike Boldon, his career was arrested by injuries and, disillusioned by this and an attempt by a fellow athlete to interest him in a drug programme, he walked away from the sport at the age of 21. For three years he followed a career as a footballer and played for a succession of semi-professional in the lower leagues of English football and also in the League of Wales. He resumed his athletics career in 1995 and within 18 months earned a place in the sprint relay at the Atlanta Olympics.

Although he never broke 10 seconds in his career, Campbell tended to excel at major championships. He won the European Championship 100 metres in 1998 and placed second, after the disqualification of Dwain Chambers for drug taking, four years later. On both occasions he was a member of the winning relay team although the 1992 gold was stripped due to Chambers’ involvement with BALCO and he also added a further gold in 2006. He also won two Commonwealth Games relay titles and an individual bronze in 2002. At the global level he won four medals at the World Championships, 2 silvers and a bronze in relays and a bronze in the 100 metres in 2003. Moving on from the disappointment of Atlanta his Olympic fortunes improved in 2000 and 2004. After reaching the final of the 100 at Sydney, Campbell produced a career best performance and led the 200 final until he was overtaken by Kostas Kenteris close to the line. His individual performances in Athens did not match this level but he had the huge satisfaction of being part of the first British team to win the Olympic 4×100 m for 92 years. He left athletics in 2006 and splits his time between a career in the media and as a specialist sprint coach for a number of football and rugby clubs.

Personal Bests: 100 – 10.04 (1998); 200 – 20.13 (2000).