Quotes from Linford Christie

I think the athletes respond well to me because I have been successful.

I have got better things to do in working with my athletes who I feel are going to be involved in 2012.

When I was young you raced from one end of the street to the other, or round the block.

I'm good in the garden and I can do the cooking, ironing and cleaning, but I can't hang wallpaper or paint.

As athletes, when you find something that gets to someone you have to press their buttons.

Some of today's athletes do not have that kind of pride. They left school at 16, have never had a job in their life and are getting Lottery funding, earning money as an athlete.

If you criticise something then you have to have an alternative, but we do have to try and improve things.

I am a coach on the outside of the establishment and that works.

When I was competing, I trained between three and six hours a day, seven days a week.

I think the Jamaicans are among the most talented people on the planet; it's just that through circumstances, through poverty, they rarely get the chance to bring those talents to the fore.

Adopting a new healthier lifestyle can involve changing diet to include more fresh fruit and vegetables as well as increasing levels of exercise.

What motivated me as much as anything was to show the racists that a black man could bring pride and honour to Britain.

There was no money in the sport but we'd be out there day in, day out, rain or shine, doing it.

I don't think there are really enough meetings in Britain for our athletes to compete properly, and because of this a lot of the talent we have has been stunted.

I love being in the garden, and my 'chilling-out room' is almost like being out there.

Within what gifts you are given you can change certain events in your life and some people choose not to do that.

It should be your parents and others in the community that you look up to. For me it was my grandmother, a great woman. She had wisdom and knowledge.

When I was competing, I cut out red meat but only because I felt it took too long to digest, so I stuck to chicken and fish.

Regardless of what I've ever done or will ever do, I'll always be black.

My first love is the sport, and it will always be my priority.

I grew up until I was seven in Jamaica with my grandmother, who I still think of as the greatest person I have known in my life.

I used to say to my opponents: 'If you let me beat you, I'm going to tell your kids you were beaten by an older man.' When I beat them I would tell them I did it with a slight hamstring problem or that I was only feeling 80 per cent fit.

Obviously I was disappointed when it fell into disuse, because it was my own track named after me, but I am sure all those youngsters we lost will be coming back, and I certainly intend to be down here as much as I can, coaching and advising.

Olympic Style lifting compliments sprint training perfectly. It does this by making sure everything in the body is 'fully connected.' This is based on the principle that all movements have a kinetic chain.