Backley aiming to spear fourth World Cup gold in Madrid
IAAF Correspondent
18 September 2002 - When Steve Backley picks up the javelin in Madrid on Saturday night, he will be aiming to produce a throw that increases the British team points -- and takes him into World Cup history.

Backley, the former world record-holder who won his fourth successive title at the European Championships in Munich last month with a season's best throw of 88.54, is on the glory trail again.

Victory this time will be his fourth World Cup triumph too - and only three men in the sport have achieved such a feat.

If he joins Ethiopian distance runner Miruts Yifter, Zambian 400m hurdler Samuel Matete and his fellow Briton, the sprinter Linford Christie, it will be another landmark for Backley who has as much competitive spirit in him as he did when he first competed for Britain in 1989.

"As long as I am throwing the way I am I don't think about retirement," he said. "I enjoy the sport so much still because every competition always brings new challenges.

"Take Munich. It was not until the fifth round that I threw far enough to win the event, needing to increase the tempo and the distance throughout the competition. I find I try to learn something new from each event and take that with me into the next one.

"Major events are a big mind game and you have to believe from the start.

"I am throwing as well as I have ever thrown and there is no reason why I should not continue on to the Olympics in Athens and beyond. The key is to stay healthy but as long as I have that competitive enthusiasm, there is no reason to think about anything else."

Backley has won the event at the last three World Cups, starting at Barcelona in 1989.
But his coach John Trower is not surprised he is going into this week's World Cup in Madrid as determined for success as he has ever been.

"I will never forget when Steve was waiting to see a physio for some treatment during the Olympic Games in Sydney," said Trower, who has been guiding him for the last 16 years. "We had about 10 minutes to kill but he still wanted a game of who could throw the coin nearest to the wall. It is having that competitive streak in everything he does.

"When he plays golf with Mick Hill, it can be the person who sinks the next putt pays for lunch. That is one of the reasons Mick and him get on so well because of that competitive nature they have.

"Steve has always shown it, and it is why he is like he is when he is involved in an event."

While he still does not have an Olympic gold medal, beaten into second place at both Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney four years later by Jan Zelezny, Backley remains one of the giants of the sport.

Now a place among the legends of the World Cup might be just an odd 88 metres away…