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How old is Colin Jackson and who is his Dancing On Ice partner?

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COLIN Jackson has gone down in history as one of Britain’s finest athletics stars, who has since gone on to carve out a career as a sports presenter.

The 51-year-old Welshman will appear on the 13th series of Dancing on Ice. Here’s all you need to know about the sporting icon and former Strictly star.

Colin Jackson has gone down in history as one of Britain's finest athletics stars, who has since gone on to carve out a career as a sports presenter
Colin Jackson has gone down in history as one of Britain’s finest athletics stars, who has since gone on to carve out a career as a sports presenter
Gary Stone - The Sun

Who is Colin Jackson?

Born on February 18, 1967, the Cardiff boy quickly singled himself out as a keen sportsman.

It wasn’t until he met athletics coach Malcolm Arnold that his potential as a competitive athletics champ began to spike.

He won gold at the 1986 World Junior Championships in the high hurdles.

Three years later he bagged silver at the 1986 Commonwealth Games.

He quickly established himself as a dominant force in the field for Great Britain and went on to represent the country at the 1986 Olympics in Seoul, where he bagged a silver.

He won two World Championship golds in 1993 and 1999.

His medal total includes: 12 Gold medals, eight silver, and one bronze.

Who is Colin Jackson’s professional Dancing on Ice partner?

Colin is paired up with brunette pro skater Klabera Komini.

He revealed to Sun Online that he turned down the opportunity to dance with a male partner, instead insisting he prefers the company of women to men.

“I could have danced with a man on DOI. But I didn’t want to,” he said.

“I get on better with women to be honest.

“Me and my dance partner Klabera have an absolute blast. We are giggling all the time –  and sharing too many sweets –  mainly wine gums!”

What has he done since retiring?

Colin retired from sport in 2003, bowing out at the World Indoor Championships.

He subsequently went on to coach his friend Mark Foster until his retirement in 2006.

At the same time, he moved into TV and worked as a commentator and pundit for the BBC at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Clearly unable to stay away from ballroom dancing following his previous stints on the show, Colin has signed up for this year's festive edition of Strictly Come Dancing
Colin signed up for 2017’s festive edition of Strictly Come Dancing
BBC

In 2005 he took part in Strictly Come Dancing, and came in second place.

He narrowly missed out on the top spot after losing out to Darren Gough.

He returned to the ballroom in 2006 for the show’s Christmas Special – and won.

He also appeared on the 2017 Xmas show.

He has also appeared on the likes of Who Do You Think You Are? and Celebrity MasterChef.

In 2018, Colin agreed to be part of Channel 4’s Star Boot Sale which sees celebrities ship their unwanted stuff.

And last year, the ex-Olympian appeared in S4C show Iaith ar Daith – which means ‘Language on Tour’ in Welsh – in which Jackson took a crash course in the Welsh language as he travelled around Wales.

His medal total includes: 12 Gold medals, eight silver, and one bronze
His medal total includes: 12 Gold medals, eight silver, and one bronze
Reuters

When did Colin come out as gay?

Up until this summer the former sportsman had refused to talk about his sexuality in public, instead maintaining a private stance on the subject.

However, in 2017 he opened up about coming out to his parents as gay in an interview for a Swedish TV programme, Rainbow Heroes.

He recalled the story of how he came out to his parents 11 years ago after an ex-partner sold a story about him.

He in 2017 he opened up about coming out to his parents as gay in an interview for a Swedish TV programme, Rainbow Heroes
In 2017 he opened up about coming out to his parents as gay in an interview for a Swedish TV programme, Rainbow Heroes
PA:Press Association

Colin explained: “I was waiting for them in the kitchen. They walked in and they sat down.

“My mother could see my face was quite distraught. It didn’t phase them at all.

“I said ‘it’s in the paper about me and this bloke.’ It didn’t phase them at all.

“My mum went first of all ‘is the story true?’

“And I said ‘it’s true, so it’s not like I can deny it.’ And then she went ‘well, why are people so disgraceful?’

“I just realised, I’ve got the best parents.”

He was convinced to open up by Swedish TV alongside former athletes Kajsa Bergqvist and long jumper Peter Haggstrom.

Jackson was asked if he previously wanted to talk about it, he replied: “No, no, never.”

Bergqvist asked: “So why today?”

He said: “Because you asked! There’s no better reason.

“The way you asked me was a whole storytelling kind of thing and you were just interested in the way it affected me sport-wise, emotionally and my preparation.

“Lots of people who’ve asked before about it have wanted it sensationalised.”

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