Jonathan Edwards (athlete)

Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards at the 2000 Olympics
Personal information
Birth name	Jonathan David Edwards
Nationality	British
Born	(1966-05-10) 10 May 1966 Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
Residence	Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
Education	Degree in physics
Alma mater	Van Mildert College, Durham University
Height	6 ft 0 in
Weight	11 st 5 lb (72 kg)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney Triple jump Silver 1996 Atlanta Triple jump World Championships Gold 1995 Gothenburg Triple jump Gold 2001 Edmonton Triple jump Silver 1997 Athens Triple jump Bronze 1993 Stuttgart Triple jump Bronze 1999 Seville Triple jump World Indoor Championships Silver 2001 Lisbon Triple jump European Championships Gold 1998 Budapest Triple jump Bronze 2002 Munich Triple jump European Indoor Championships Gold 1998 Valencia Triple jump Representing  England Commonwealth Games Gold 2002 Manchester Triple jump Silver 1990 Auckland Triple jump Silver 1994 Victoria Triple jump

Jonathan David Edwards, CBE (born 10 May 1966 in London) is a former British triple jumper. He is a former Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995.

Following his retirement as an athlete, Edwards has worked as a sports (primarily athletics) commentator and presenter for BBC television. Formerly a devout Christian, he also presented episodes of the BBC Christian worship programme Songs of Praise, until he renounced his faith in 2007. He was a member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the 2012 games.

Athletics career

Due to his strong Christian beliefs during his athletic career, discussed in more detail below, he initially refused to compete on Sundays,^[1] but eventually decided to do so in 1993. This decision proved timely, since the qualifying round at that year's World Championships took place on a Sunday. He went on to win the bronze medal.

In his breakthrough year of 1995, Edwards produced a jump of 18.43 m (60 feet 5 ¹⁄₂ inches) at the European Cup. The leap was wind assisted and did not count for record purposes, but it was a sign of things to come as he capped an unbeaten year with a historic gold medal performance at the World Championships, in which he broke the world record twice in the same meeting. On his first jump, he became the first man to legally pass the 18-metre barrier with a jump of 18.16 m (59 feet 7 inches). That record lasted for about 20 minutes. His second jump of 18.29 m made him the first to jump 60 feet. During his commentary for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Edwards observed that during the 1995 World Championships, he felt as if "he could jump as far as he needed to". Later the same year Edwards became the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

During 1996 Edwards went into the Olympic Games as favourite and world record holder, but it was American Kenny Harrison who took the gold with a jump of 18.09 m. Edwards walked away with the silver after a leap of 17.88 m (the longest ever jump not to win gold). Edwards won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games, and was appointed a CBE shortly afterwards. He also won golds at the 2001 World Championships and 2002 Commonwealth Games. At one point in 2002, Edwards held all the gold medals for the "four majors" (Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships). He retired after the 2003 World Championships as Great Britain's most successful medal winning athlete.

Hola

Post-athletics career

Jonathan Edwards at the University of Ulster Winter Graduation Ceremony, Tuesday, 19 December 2006

Following his retirement, Edwards has pursued a media career as a television presenter mainly working for the BBC as a sports commentator and presenter, and on programmes such as Songs of Praise until he gave up this programme, due to his loss of faith, in February 2007.^[2]

Edwards regularly presents BBC coverage of athletics, deputising for Gabby Logan. When he is not presenting coverage, Edwards often provides expert analysis on field events as part of the BBC commentary team.

Edwards also served as a presenter for the Olympic Announcement ceremonies during the IOC sessions in Guatemala in 2007 and Copenhagen in 2009.

In 2004, Edwards joined with Paula Radcliffe on an Olympic Special Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The pair raised £64,000 for charity with half of that sum going to the British Olympic Association and a quarter of the sum going to Asthma UK.^[3]

He was a member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, representing athletes in the organisation of the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[4]

Personal bests

• Triple Jump — 18.29 m (WR),^[5][6] 18.43 m W +2.4 (not ratified due to excessive wind conditions)^[6]
• 100 m — 10.48s^[5]
• Long jump — 7.41 m^[5]

Awards

An honorary doctorate was conferred upon him at a ceremony at the University of Exeter on 21 January 2006.^[7]

Later in the same year, an honorary doctorate of the university (DUniv) was conferred upon him at the winter graduation ceremony of the University of Ulster (19 December 2006).^[8]

Personal life

Edwards lives with his wife Alison in Newcastle upon Tyne. They have two sons, Nathan and Sam.

Religious beliefs

Edwards initially refused to compete on Sundays due to his devout Christian beliefs, a decision which cost him a chance to compete in the 1991 World Championships. However in 1993, after much deliberation and discussion with his father (a vicar), he changed his mind, deciding that God gave him his talent in order for him to compete in athletics. He once said "My relationship with Jesus and God is fundamental to everything I do. I have made a commitment and dedication in that relationship to serve God in every area of my life."^[2] Edwards presented episodes of the Christian television show Songs of Praise until 2007.

However, in February 2007 it was widely reported that Edwards had lost his faith in God. The Daily Mail described Edwards as a "man deeply troubled by the collapse of his Christian faith" but revealed that a friend said "They still go to church as a family".^[9][10] The Daily Mail article also quoted Edwards as saying that he was going through a difficult period in his life, one that was deeply personal to him and his family such that he did not wish to comment on it.^[9]

In an interview in The Times in June 2007, Edwards said:

If there is no God, does that mean that life has no purpose? Does it mean that personal existence ends at death? They are thoughts that do my head in. One thing that I can say, however, is that even if I am unable to discover some fundamental purpose to life, this will not give me a reason to return to Christianity. Just because something is unpalatable does not mean that it is not true.

Furthermore, in the interview with The Times he also stated "When you think about it rationally, it does seem incredibly improbable that there is a God." In the same interview he also said "I feel internally happier than at any time of my life."^[11]

In an interview for a film by Matthew Syed broadcast on BBC One at around 18:30 on the evening of 12 August 2012, after the last medal of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London was awarded, Jonathan Edwards stated "It may seem odd to quote from the bible since I have lost my faith, but...".

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jonathan Edwards (athlete).

• Jonathan Edwards profile at IAAF
• Jonathan Edwards (@JDE66) on Twitter
• http://www.mtc-uk.com/talent/jonathan-edwards/
• http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/athletics/sydney-medallist-emabrrassed-by-god-fervour/story-e6frfgkx-1225815303222
• Jonathan Edwards, Interview on London's 2012 Olympic Games

Records
Preceded by Willie Banks	Men's Triple Jump World Record Holder 8 July 1995 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Damon Hill	BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1995	Succeeded by Damon Hill
Preceded by Colin Jackson	Men's European Athlete of the Year 1995	Succeeded by Jan Železný
Preceded by Wilson Kipketer	Men's European Athlete of the Year 1998	Succeeded by Tomáš Dvořák
Preceded by Romario	L'Équipe's International Champion of Champions 1995	Succeeded by Michael Johnson
Preceded by Johan Olav Koss	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1995	Succeeded by none