Dancing On Ice: Colin Jackson receives a score of 37.5
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Former sprint and hurdling athlete Colin Jackson, 54, has revealed his severe allergies forced him to “switch sports” when he was younger, changing the course of his career in athletics. The Olympic silver medalist initially had his heart set on becoming a cricketer, but he was unable to pursue his childhood dream due to his struggles with hay fever.
Colin then went on to set his sights on athletics, which was initially his secondary sport, to become a two-time world 110m hurdles champion.
The sportsman admitted that his allergies are such a concern for him, that he “always slightly freaks out” when he’s forgotten to take his antihistamine tablet.
Speaking out on his health issues in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Colin said: “One of the reasons I switched from cricket to athletics was because of that [allergies].
“Athletics really was my secondary sport, cricket was my first love.
“But a cricket pitch when you suffer from hay fever is not the best place to be. So as a kid, I’d literally had enough and so it’s one of the reasons.
“I can happily move to athletics, you know, you’re in a stadium which has less grass around it, certainly less trees, that’s for sure, around the perimeter that you’re competing in.
“So it seemed a safer haven in that sense.”
He continued: “And as I went into athletics itself, I used to go away this time of the year to Southern Europe to train because, obviously, the tree pollen was gone by then.
“So I could train this time down there and not suffer so much, so it very much had an effect on how I structured my life.”
Colin, who has been appearing on the BBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in recent weeks, then went into further detail about how severe his allergies can be.
He revealed: “From a young age, I’ve suffered from hay fever.
“So my hay fever, unfortunately, is both tree and grass pollen. So, this time of the year is when it all begins.
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“And it really doesn’t let me go until the end of July/beginning of August, where I really don’t have to fear too much of that dreaded hay fever.
“But when people truly suffer from hay fever, and most allergies where you have some kind of reaction to it, it’s the problems it really causes.”
Detailing his symptoms, Colin added: “So, you know, the itchy eyes that people will always describe, and the nose running, and the throat, and sometimes the headaches.
“You have to deal with that on a daily basis, but it has an affect on your everyday life as well.
“You know, if you want to go out for example, you’re always checking and making sure whether the pollen count is super high.
“I always slightly freak out if I haven’t taken my antihistamine tablet, and things like that really do play havoc with you.”
Colin also struggled with his allergies when he competed in Dancing on Ice earlier this year, due to his latex and neoprene allergy.
The Welsh star explained: “I was in one of the apartments we were staying at, and they put a latex mattress protector under the bottom sheet of the bed, and of course you don’t know, do you?
“And then, of course, I went to bed and I woke up the next day – my skin was literally on fire. I had hives all over the place.
“My body was really badly swollen, so it was nip or tuck whether I could continue on the show.”
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