Jason Gardener running in the 2000 European Indoor Championships (© Getty Images)
Britain’s Double European 60m champion Jason Gardener has teamed up with Namibian sprint legend Frank Fredericks to boost his bid for the World Indoor title on home soil in Birmingham this March.
27-year-old Gardener, who was born and remains based in the City of Bath, in his preparations for the World Indoor Championships, will contest the whole Energizer indoor series this winter beginning with the Gent meeting on 9 February. As part of this campaign he will run on the championship track itself, when he competes in second leg of the series, the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham on 21 February.
“The Bath Bullet” as the European indoor 60m record holder (6.46) is dubbed, dashed to that record mark back in 1999 when he took the bronze medal at the 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, Japan. Last winter in Vienna, he also retained his European Indoor 60m title which he first won in Gent in 2000.
However, after recent outdoor seasons have been ruined by a persistent back injury, Gardener is more keen than ever to impose himself on the world scene this winter.
It was through Malcolm Arnold who is Gardener’s recently appointed coach, that he was introduced him to Fredericks, as another of Arnold’s ‘pupils’ the World Indoor 60m Hurdles record holder Colin Jackson is good friends with the 35-year-old Namibian star.
Significantly, amongst Fredericks many triumphs in a career over flowing with medals was the 1999 World Indoor 200m champion and also took a silver medal at 60m at the 1993 championships.
"It will be a big boost to train with Colin and Frankie. When you change coaches you inevitably do different things. It's very encouraging," confirmed Gardener, who will commence his 2003 international season on 2 February at the Norwich Union International in Glasgow.
IAAF
