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Where are they now? TONY JARRETT
- Updated: November 1, 2016
Tony Jarrett retired from athletics in 2003 when he pulled a cruciate ligament in his knee. However, the man who still sits second on the UK all-time 110m hurdles list courtesy of his 13.00 clocking, set when placing runner-up to Colin Jackson in the IAAF World Championships in 1993, wasted no time in finding something else to do, as he quickly began working as a learning mentor in a school, a role he still does today, alongside public speaking and coaching.
“I have been working as a learning mentor at Kingsford Community School in Beckton for 13 years now,” says Jarrett. “I had been helping the PE staff out and I was very fortunate that they gave me the opportunity to go into the classroom. I really like the one on-one approach that my role entails. I work with the behavioural kids and I see my job as trying to make them understand that education is important. Not every kid is academic, but I want them to see that they can leave school with something. It is very much about getting them to get the best out of themselves.”
As a Christian, Jarrett also gives talks to schools and churches. He speaks to church groups about how his faith helped his athletics, while he tries to inspire the school-age youngsters to reach for their goals. “I love public speaking,” he says. “The kids don’t know who I am, so I show them a clip of some of my races, take out one of my medals and they love it.”
In addition to his day jobs, Jarrett coaches a diverse group of athletes, ranging from youngsters up to those with Olympic aims, at Beckton, Newham and Lee Valley. He says that when he retired from athletics, coaching was far from his mind. However, former 1985 European indoor 60m champion and 1988 Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallist Mike McFarlane asked him to help out with the hurdlers, one of whom was Gianni Frankis, who has since gone on to claim medals at European junior and European under-23 level and was British 110m hurdles champion in 2011 and 2013.
“I miss the competitive side of things and the camaraderie, but I don’t miss the training”
Jarrett takes up the story: …
