Nobody does it better

He's had a year to get used to it, but world champion triple jumper Jonathan Edwards still isn't comfortable with the idea of fame. When he smashed two world records last summer, then went on to become BBC Sports Personality of the Year, his boyish looks and greying hair were suddenly recognised by fans on every street. And a man whose life had been devoted to his sport, his family and his religion suddenly had to deal with the huge demands of the media.

"For me it is all an enormous surprise," he says. "After what I achieved last year in the world championships, I look at how my life has changed so much since then, and I still cannot believe it."

Now he is Britain's brightest hope to win a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. And the pressure is beginning to tell. He is, on the face of it, so vastly superior to his rivals that nothing should go wrong. But Jonathan, despite his reputation as the most cheery, relaxed and sensible athlete in the business, is wracked with nerves.

"You see, I've never known this position before," he says. "A year ago there was no pressure on me at all. I think the expectation is the hardest thing to handle. I still lie awake at night and say to my wife, Alison: "I'm the world record holder. I don't know whether I can do it again."

When it all gets too much, 30-year-old Jonathan can immerse himself in family life. Home is a small maisonette in Heaton, Newcastle, where he helps around the house and plays with his two young boys, Sam and Nathan. You won't see any of his sporting medals in the front room, but there are toys everywhere. A settee scuffed by toddlers' shoes shows that this is a home where kids can have fun.

When Jonathan needs to be away, he often takes his whole family with him. They spent much of the winter together in Tallahassee, Florida, training in the warm weather - and enjoying his anonymity.

"I don't think we'd appreciated how much pressure we'd been under until we actually got away from it all. We had a lot of time just being a normal person, going round the shops and nobody knowing who I was. That was very, very enjoyable. It helped me to keep my feet on the ground."

The other stabilising influence is his Baptist faith. "I genuinely believe God has blessed me and it's ultimately because of his plan and purpose that I am where I am today," he says.

"When I retire from athletics I'd like to be involved full-time in Christian work, which is why I'm now doing a theology degree in between training."

Vicar's son Jonathan was brought up in Devon, but the turning point in his life came when he moved to Newcastle in 1987. He has stayed ever since and become an adopted Geordie.

"As a boy I was a bit of a girl's blouse," he admits. "I didn't like to do things on my own. I wouldn't even read a lesson in church, I'd be so nervous about what people might think.

"I had a wonderful upbringing but it was quite sheltered in many respects. I've developed since I've left home."

After he failed to qualify for the Olympic triple jump final in Barcelona four years ago - a setback that almost reduced him to tears - he took what was for him the momentous decision to start competing on Sunday, the Sabbath.

"My parents were not for the decision and, given the strong influence they have had over me, it was a big thing for me to go ahead and do. But Barcelona turned out to be a positive experience because it formed a strong foundation in my relationship with God. I never doubted that He wanted me to be an athlete, and I felt that whatever happened was, and will be, God's will."

Jonathan's summer of success in 1995 was crowned when he won an MBE for his services to sport.

"It's still very hard to fathom last year," he says. "Sometimes I still can't quite believe it was me out there. Now I am very scared, but excited about the Games. I don't think I'll ever have a better chance of becoming an Olympic champion, which is why I keep telling myself not to mess it up."

Even if he does, you sense that this devout and quiet man has resources enough to cope.

"My priorities are not to become rich and famous and appear on television all the time, but to maintain my relationship with God and to be a good family man," he says. "What I achieved last year has not changed that. It certainly hasn't changed those close to me, and I hope it hasn't changed me either."

Copyright 1996 MGN LTD
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