COLLINS KEEN TO MAKE ATHLETICS HISTORY

Track legend Kim Collins is determined to make 2011 a record breaking year by securing a personal best at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham this month and then appearing at a record-matching ninth IAAF World Championships in Daegu later this summer.

First on the agenda for Saint Kitts and Nevis star Collins is Birmingham on 19 February, where he’ll line up at the NIA against local boy – European and Commonwealth silver medallist - Mark Lewis-Francis and Olympic silver medallist Francis Obikwelu in the 60m, before turning his attentions to the 200m and a match-up with World Indoor medallist Mike Rodgers.

Collins is no stranger to Birmingham, having competed there five times in his career, the last being at the Aviva Grand Prix in 2009 and the first at the World Indoor Championships in 2003, where he won silver and recorded his fastest ever 60m time of 6.53 seconds in the process.

And Collins has set his sights on going even better this time around and says anything other than a new personal best can be considered a disappointment.

He said: “I’ve run at Birmingham before and what I remember is that my personal best was set there and every time I go there I aim to outdo that time and I’m confident that this year I will beat that time that I set in Birmingham in 2003 – I’m feeling that good at the moment.

“It’s a great place to compete and I’m confident that I can put on a show for the fans and really give them something to cheer about.”

Collins remains one of the most decorated track stars in history, but in recent years, everyone – including the former world number one - have been eclipsed by one man, Jamaican star Usain Bolt.

 But should Collins compete at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu this August, then he will achieve something that surely the world 100m and 200m record holder cannot, a ninth World Championship appearance.

The record is currently held by Kent-born Tim Berrett, who represented Canada throughout his career in race-walking, but Collins would represent the first male to achieve this in track events.

And Collins believes the secret to his age-defying performances is his respect for his body and the 34-year-old says he is ready to show the new kids on the block that he still means business.

“I’ve been encouraged to go to Daegu and London,” he added with a wry smile. “Daegu would count as my ninth world championship which is a record that Bolt is unlikely to beat and if I go to London then I will have competed at five Olympics which would also be a record.

“It seems like I have to go for that record in Daegu, it’s been a long journey and I feel like I owe it to my fans, I need to teach these young boys that Kim Collins is the boss.

“To be able to compete at this level for so long all comes down to the love I have for the sport. I think the key to longevity is proper training in terms of the way you train, trying not to abuse your body and trying to stay in the right competition discipline for your body.

“I try the best I can to be aware of my body – if I feel pain then I will stop straight away. I will never run myself down to the ground as God only gave myself one body and I intend to preserve it in the very best way I can.

“Technically I seem old in my sport, most sportsmen are mid twenties – what I’m looking forward to doing is possibly going in to coaching. I’m experimenting on myself one last time so that if I do well it shows that I know what I’m doing at my age, still being able to be competitively.”

For tickets or more information for the Aviva Grand Prix, on February 19 at the NIA in Birmingham, go to uka.org.uk/Aviva-series or phone 08000 556 056