(triple jump)

Jonathan Edwards was the story of the 1995 athletics championships.

It was that year that Edwards finally achieved his potential.

The popular jumper began the season with an enormous wind-assisted effort at the European Cup and then broke Willie Banks' ten-year-old world record in Spain.

He subsequently arrived in Gothenburg as the hot favourite but was not put off by the pressure as he sailed out 18.29m, breaking his own world best twice in the competition.

After that, the Gateshead Harrier was always expected to add to his gold medal haul at the highest level.

But after winning 22 competitions in a row, his run of success ended agonisingly at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta where he was beaten by Kenny Harrison.

In fact it was not until last year's Olympics that Edwards achieved that golden goal, winning with 17.71m.

This season, a jump of 17.66m in Glasgow at the start of July propelled the 35-year-old to the top of the world rankings and he will once again be among Britain's top hopes for gold.

It is all a far cry from his early days when Edwards, a committed Christian, refused to compete on Sundays and subsequently missed a number of major events, including the 1991 World Championships.

He reversed his decision in 1993. The British sporting public are glad he did.