Q: How many athletics medals are the British team going to win in Beijing?

A: Beijing is going to be a tall order. I'd be happy if we came back with three medals.

Q: Which events are our best hopes of medals?

A: I would look at the heptathlon and Jessica Ennis. I think Phillips Idowu owes us a medal at a major championship and I think one of our long jumpers could do it, perhaps the one who is injured right now, Greg Rutherford.

Q: With London 2012 now just five years away, are you optimistic or pessimistic about British athletics? And why?

A: I'm quite optimistic about it because some of the young guys are really hungry for success. With five years to go they have the opportunity to build towards that and hopefully fulfill their dreams.

Q: Who are our best hopes of a gold medal in London?

COLIN JACKSON Born: 18 February, 1967 in Cardiff Olympic record: 110m hurdles silver (1988) Other medals: 110m hurdles World gold (1993, 1999), 110m hurdles World silver (1997), 4x100m World silver (1993), 110m hurdles World bronze (1987), 110m hurdles European gold (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002), 110m hurdles Commonwealth gold (1990, 1994)

A: I think Greg Rutherford has a really good chance. He's got all the attributes that really good long jumpers need. He's very quick, very tall, very rangey and he's got the skills. He's a huge prospect.

And Jessica Ennis really stands out as somebody special. In 2008 you would be looking for her to maybe get a medal and gain Olympic experience. Lot of athletes gain an Olympic medal and it's the highlight of their career, that girl can move on to something else.

Q: If you could make one change to improve the performance of our athletes what would it be?

A: I think we have to show solidarity everywhere, with the coaches, the athletes and the media. Everybody has to be pulling towards one genuine goal, and that's success.

There's too much bantering a lot of the time, between the media and the athletes and the coaches and the federation. There are a lot of arguments always just on the boil and that can affect an athlete's Non-competitive sport? What a waste of time. While schools encourage that it will impact on our athletic performances.

Q: If you could make one change to boost the sport's profile and participation levels, what would it be?

A: I would increase the marketing budget for this sport. It's very important that we get the message out there to people that this sport is a great genuine sport.

When somebody like Sony spends �300m on their marketing campaigns for their new products you can see why we end up buying them. Athletics doesn't spend anywhere near that money! And as a result we suffer.

I remember athletics in its heyday at places like Crystal Palace and you would not have been able to get a ticket for love nor money. The atmosphere would have been electric. We haven't reached those stages yet but we are climbing back.