Jason Gardener
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with Jason GardinerJason Gardiner-Theatre:*1987- Cats – Australian Cast - Theatre Royal Sydney*1988- 42nd Street – Original Australian Cast – Her Majesty’s Theatre*1991- West Side Story – USA National Tour – Dance Captain*1992- Kizmet – Miami – Jackie Gleeson Theatre USA...
.
Jason Carl Gardener (born 18 September 1975 in Bath, Somerset, England) is a retired British sprint
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
athlete, and former World Indoor Champion. Gardener was educated at Beechen Cliff School
Beechen Cliff School
Beechen Cliff School is a boys' secondary school in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in 1896, it has 1,145 students aged 11 to 18.There are around 830 boys in years 7 to 11 and a co-educational sixth form of over 200 students...
and the City of Bath College
City of Bath College
City of Bath College is a Further Education college in the centre of Bath, Somerset, England.-History:The college was formed in 1892 under the combined names of Bath City Science, Art, and Technical Schools...
, and went on to graduate from Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University is a university based in, and around, Bath, England. The institution was previously known as Bath College of Higher Education, and later Bath Spa University College...
.
Athletics career
Gardener started his career at the World Junior ChampionshipsIAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics
The IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics are the world championships for junior aged athletes athletes, organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It is held biennially since 1986.-Championships:-Men:-Women:-External links:* at...
in 1994 where he placed second in the individual 100 m and bettered this to take his first gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
as part of the 4 × 100 m relay
Relay race
During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...
team.
Joining the senior ranks, and coached by Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold (athletics coach)
Malcolm Arnold is an Athletics coach working for UK Athletics and its predecessors since 1974. Currently, he is the National Event Coach for Hurdles and Senior Performance Coach for UK Athletics. He has attended every Olympic Games since Mexico City in 1968, 11 in all, as a coach to National Teams...
for his entire career, Gardener took another silver in the 60 m, at the European Indoor Championships of 1998. He was not chosen for the relay team, which took gold.
In 1999 he took bronze at the World indoors
IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics
The International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships were inaugurated as the World Indoor Games in 1985 in Paris, France and were subsequently renamed in 1987 as they are known today.-History:...
in the 60 m, breaking the British record. and later that year saw him run 9.98 s breaking the 10 second barrier for the first time in the 100 m. He was also part of the national record breaking 4 × 100 m relay team along with Darren Campbell
Darren Campbell
Darren Andrew Campbell MBE is a former English sprint athlete. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay...
, Marlon Devonish
Marlon Devonish
Marlon Ronald Devonish, MBE is an English sprint athlete.He is a member of the Coventry Godiva Harriers athletics club and is coached by Tony Lester. Early in his career he was successful at both 100 and 200 metre distances, winning English Schools and European Junior titles at both, but in recent...
, and Dwain Chambers
Dwain Chambers
Dwain Anthony Chambers is an English sprinter of Afro-Caribbean descent. He has won medals on the international stage numerous times and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of recorded athletics. His primary event is the 100 metres sprint, in which he has the second...
that they set in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Spain running 37.73 seconds.
2000 saw Gardener go one better in the European indoor 60 m taking gold as well as breaking the national 50 m record with a time of 5.61 s. Unfortunately he became injured during the summer and although making it to Sydney for the Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
he did not progress through the early rounds.
He retained his European indoor title in 2002 as well as a 4 x 100 m Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
gold medal.
2003 saw another World indoors bronze despite being hampered by a hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
injury but the following year he bettered this to take the gold, his first world individual title ahead of the fancied Shawn Crawford
Shawn Crawford
Shawn Crawford is an American sprint athlete. He competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters events. He won gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 200 meters....
of the USA.
Gardener made the squad for the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
where he competed in the 100 m and won the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay with Darren Campbell
Darren Campbell
Darren Andrew Campbell MBE is a former English sprint athlete. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay...
, Marlon Devonish
Marlon Devonish
Marlon Ronald Devonish, MBE is an English sprint athlete.He is a member of the Coventry Godiva Harriers athletics club and is coached by Tony Lester. Early in his career he was successful at both 100 and 200 metre distances, winning English Schools and European Junior titles at both, but in recent...
and Mark Lewis-Francis
Mark Lewis-Francis
Mark Anthony Lewis-Francis is a British track and field athlete, specifically a sprinter, who specialises in the 100 metres. A renowned junior, his greatest sporting achievement at senior level has been to anchor the Great Britain and Northern Ireland 4 x 100 metres relay team to a shock gold...
in a 38.07 s their season's best.
In March 2007, Gardener won his fourth European Indoor 60 m gold after fears that he may have to miss defending his title as his wife, Nancy, was due to give birth.
Gardener's last professional race was a 4 x 100 m relay at the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace, in the former parkland and also usurping part of the former grand prix circuit.It was...
on 3 August 2007. His team failed to finish this race.
Personal bests
| Date | Event | Venue | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 February 2000 | 50 metres 50 metres 50 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan... , Spain |
5.61 |
| 7 March 1999 | 60 metres 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
Maebashi, Gunma Maebashi, Gunma is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on April 1, 1892, by the samurai Makuba Kawai.On December 5, 2004 the town of Ōgo, and the villages of Kasukawa and Miyagi, all from Seta District, were merged into Maebashi.... , Japan |
6.46 |
| 2 July 1999 | 100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896... |
Lausanne Lausanne Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west... , Switzerland |
9.98 |
| 11 July 1999 | 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents... , Germany |
20.65 |
- All information from IAAF Profile
Major achievements
- 1994
- World Junior Championships – LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal.- 100 m silver medal
- 4 × 100 m relay gold medal
- World Junior Championships – Lisbon
- 1995
- European Cup – Villeneuve d'AscqVilleneuve d'AscqVilleneuve-d'Ascq is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants, it is one of the main cities of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole and the largest in area after Lille ; it is also one of the main cities of the Nord-Pas de Calais region.Built up...
, France.- 4 × 100 m relay gold medal
- European Cup – Villeneuve d'Ascq
- 1997
- European Cup – MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany.- 4 × 100 m relay bronze medal
- European Cup – Munich
- 1998
- European Indoor Championships – ValenciaValencia (city in Spain)Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
, Spain.- 60 m silver medal
- European Indoor Championships – Valencia
- 1999
- World Indoor Championships1999 IAAF World Indoor ChampionshipsThe 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...
– Maebashi, Japan.- 60 m bronze medal
- European Cup – Paris, France.
- 4 × 100 m relay bronze medal
- ran 100 m personal best of 9.98 seconds in LausanneLausanneLausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland.
- World Indoor Championships
- 2000
- European Indoor Championships – GhentGhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Belgium.- 60 m gold medal
- European Indoor Championships – Ghent
- 2002
- European Indoor Championships – ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria.- 60 m gold medal
- Commonwealth Games2002 Commonwealth GamesThe 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
– ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England- 4 × 100 m gold medal
- European Indoor Championships – Vienna
- 2003
- World Indoor Championships2003 IAAF World Indoor ChampionshipsThe 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK from 14 March to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK...
– BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England.- 60 m bronze medal
- World Indoor Championships
- 2004
- World Indoor Championships2004 IAAF World Indoor ChampionshipsThe 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004...
– BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary.- 60 m gold medal
- Summer Olympics2004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
– AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece.- 4 × 100 m gold medal
- World Indoor Championships
- 2005
- World Championships2005 World Championships in AthleticsThe 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
– HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland.- 4 × 100 m bronze medal
- World Championships
- 2007
- European Indoor Championships – BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England.- 60 m gold medal
- European Indoor Championships – Birmingham
Gardener has also won four senior national titles indoors and two outdoors.
Bobsleigh
In 2008 Jason took part in a project to qualify four athletes from diverse sports in the British 2 Man Bobsleigh Championships, after just two weeks of training. Along with World Champion track cyclist Craig MacLeanCraig MacLean
Craig MacLean is a Scottish track cyclist who has represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a Silver Medal in the Team Sprint at the 2000 Olympics....
, Rugby World Cup winner Dan Luger
Dan Luger
Daniel Darko Luger MBE is a former English rugby union international who was a member of the squad that won the Webb Ellis Cup in 2003.- Club career:...
and Commonwealth Decathlon champion Dean Macey
Dean Macey
Dean Macey is an English athlete from Canvey Island. He is best known for competing in the decathlon, which he did from 1995 to 2008, winning World Championship and Commonwealth Games medals, as well as twice finishing fourth in the Olympic Games...
, he attempted to complete two runs down the course at Cesana Pariol
Cesana Pariol
Cesana Pariol was the venue for bobsled, luge and skeleton during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The track, built for the games, is located in Cesana...
in Italy (site of the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
) to gain qualification to the finals. Selected as pusher for driver Macey, he succeeded in finishing in sixth place overall, as well as being the highest placed novice pair. The story was filmed for the BBC and broadcast in February 2009. Jason declined an offer to try and qualify for the next Winter Olympics in 2010.