Turner delighted to add to medal haul (UK only) Three Englishmen swept the podium in the Commonwealth 110m hurdles final on Friday, led by European champion Andy Turner. Turner, 30, beat team-mate and rival Will Sharman to gold, with 20-year-old European junior champion Lawrence Clarke taking bronze. BBC Sport analyst Colin Jackson, Olympic silver medallist for Britain at the Seoul Games of 1988 and twice Commonwealth champion, sets out what the trio must do next. Hurdling at a world level is exciting right now - but it adds something extra when Britons are doing well. Globally, we have gone from Liu Xiang taking on Dayron Robles, to Terrence Tramell, to David Oliver coming on the scene. Now, we have Andy Turner and Will Sharman to watch.  Turner 'must aim to go under 13 seconds' |
Turner has become the European and Commonwealth champion, and that cannot be underestimated. I managed it in 1990 and 1994, and I know it is tough to do those doubles at major competitions. It is difficult, after your first success, to lift your performance again. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with your own race and you have competition, too. Andy doubted he had the capability - he said as much - but he kept his focus, and he delivered. The standard of the competition was not spectacular, but that does not temper his achievement in any way. True, he will face a different class of athlete at the Worlds next year, that's for sure. But you still have to go out there and win, and sometimes people don't understand how difficult that is. When you think of the possible negatives - for example, what would we have said if he had lost when it was so easy to win? - Andy had all that pressure to deal with.  | 110M HURDLES THIS YEAR Top athletes' best times in 2010: 1. 12.89 David Oliver 2. 13.01 Dayron Robles 3. 13.12 Ryan Wilson 4. 13.19 Ronnie Ash 5. 13.22 David Payne 6. 13.24 Joel Brown 7. 13.25 Dwight Thomas 8. 13.27 Petr Svoboda 9. 13.28 Andy Turner 19=. 13.39 Will Sharman 101=. 13.69 Lawrence Clarke |
But he has matured into his event. Not long ago, I told him that each time I saw him come to major championships, he would not get his rhythm right - his trail leg was not in time with his lead leg. This year, he has got it right. His hurdling is far more fluid than normal and that comes with experience, maturity and confidence. Throughout this season he has had Achilles tendon trouble, probably the worst injury for a hurdler, because you are constantly landing on it and you need it to propel you again. It makes it hard to put in back-to-back training sessions. However, he has managed it well and got himself into a groove. Now, he has to look at going under 13 seconds. He can do that if he concentrates on being in the best shape he can. If he maintains his rhythm at majors and other people around him make mistakes, he can take medals. Lots of hurdlers out there are capable of going sub-13 seconds and, if he wants to raise game, he needs to become the third European under that barrier. If he can manage that, he's in contention.  Sharman, Turner and Clarke celebrate their success in Delhi |
As for Will Sharman, these championships were difficult for him. Nobody enjoys running with an upset stomach, and hurdling is certainly not the easiest thing to be doing in that condition, jumping up and down. But it is vital for the sport for England, and Britain, to have two good athletes going head-to-head domestically. That is when magic can happen. When I was going up against Tony Jarrett, we fuelled each other. Sharman was fourth at the World Championships last year - he and Turner have got that domestic rivalry that will push them close to the world's best. 2009 World Championships - Sharman finishes fourth (UK only) Sharman should be aiming at Turner, and vice versa: Andy should be thinking, 'as long as I'm ahead of Will, then I'm doing a good job'. But then you have Lawrence Clarke, who won bronze, to factor in. He came to these championships with an abductor muscle injury and I wasn't expecting him to line up in the final. | If Clarke has a good, strong winter, Turner and Sharman will have to watch out |
However, the character that he is, he refused to give up so easily. For him to produce bronze, in the state I know he's in, shows he is a genuine competitor. That is a brilliant trait to have. Lots of athletes would kill to have in their armoury the ability to raise their game fully under pressure and deliver, forgetting their injuries, in the way he demonstrated. He has a bright future and good athletes above him to shoot at. They are only running times in the 13.20s, but next year he could run 13.25 and you never know, he may end up running 13.1 quite easily. First, he has to get stronger and learn what 3ft 6in barrier hurdling is about, because this is his first real season over them. Once he gets to know the event, and with a good, strong winter behind him, Turner and Sharman will have to watch out. Colin Jackson was talking to BBC Sport's Ollie Williams.
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