The Flying Pineapple

Published by Accent Press Ltd – 2011

ISBN 9781907726637

Copyright © Jamie Baulch 2011

The right of Jamie Baulch to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, The Old School, Upper High St, Bedlinog, Mid-Glamorgan, CF46 6RY.

The Quick Reads project in Wales is a joint venture between the Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh Books Council. Titles are funded as part of the National Basic Skills Strategy for Wales.

Printed and bound in the UK

Cover design by Adam Walker

My family mean everything to me. I can honestly say that I am happiest when I am surrounded by my parents, Alan and Marilyn, my brother and sisters David, Lucy and Sarah, my partner Susannah and my sons, Jay and Morgan. They are more important to me than all the medals I have won in athletics.

It's been said that I am one of the most decorated British athletes. That's because in my career I've been part of the British relay teams and competed in the Indoor Championships as well as the individual 400 metres events. I've got an Olympic silver medal, European gold, World gold, silver and bronze, Commonwealth bronze … the list goes on. Of more value to me, though, above all these, is my family.

When I look back on my career, it is because of them that I feel as successful as I am told I have been. They have always been there for me. I shared the early joy of winning races with my parents and siblings. Now I can look back on what I have achieved and know I am as proud of my sons as my parents were of me. I knew they always believed in me and I try to make sure my sons feel the same way. I follow their acting and performance successes, looking on from the sidelines exactly as my dad did for me. My parents always made us feel that they were proud of us all, no matter what we achieved or to what level. I want my sons to grow up feeling that way too.

I have two sisters and one brother and I am the baby of the family.

Two of us were adopted – Sarah, my older sister, and me. I was three months old when I was adopted by my mum and dad in 1973. I'm of mixed race but I grew up in a white family. My dad is an architect and my mum a school teacher in Cwmbrân. Growing up in south Wales in the 70s, people would say, ‘You look like your dad,' though I looked nothing like him. We still laugh about that. We were, and are, a very loving family. I give full credit to my mum and dad that I don't remember anything but a happy childhood and home life. To this day, Mum and Dad's home is central to all of us. Whenever I chat to anyone else about their upbringing they always say that I'm really lucky, and I feel it.

My parents live in a farmhouse with six acres of land, so as children we had fields all around us and a big front garden where we played. When I was growing up, we used to go down to the south of France once a year in the summer holidays, caravanning. It was perfect and we all loved being together as a family. Christmas time for us has always been a real community and family time. We always got the presents we asked for and, far more importantly, the love and attention. We weren't spoilt but, if I'm honest, out of the four of us, I think I was the most spoilt because I was the baby. I was the one who always got away with murder, and I became a cheeky chap, because I was allowed to get away with it! My parents said that when I used to come into the living room, I could never sit quietly on the settee. I'd come from behind it, dive to tumble in a forward roll and land loudly and forcefully. I was always raring to go and always active.

I'm sure one of the reasons I've got to where I am today is because of the support I had growing up. Mine were never pushy parents, but they were always there when we needed them. I played football for the Under Tens and my dad was the sponge man who used to run on every time somebody got injured. He was the sponge man when I played cricket in Croesyceiliog, too, so he was always there on hand and enjoyed being part of the team. As a child, I'd always have the right kit and Mum and Dad worked hard to give us the best. They raised the four of us exactly alike. They worked very hard and are extremely humble, and I am proud of how they brought us up. It's rubbed off on me and, through me, on to my children.

Even now, at the age of thirty-seven, if I am in doubt about something or I need advice, I'll still ring up my parents and talk it through with them. No matter what the problem, I go to them and they are there for me, as they always have been. I feel very fortunate that the relationship we have is like that. I never had any problems with adolescence. Maybe that's just the way I am but I was never an angry teenager – I've always loved life.

We were a sporty family. My brother played badminton and both my sisters played county tennis, and were very good players. My older sister also played hockey. But I was the only runner. Dad played cricket a lot when he was younger. When we went to France each year, we all played tennis, went swimming and played table tennis. Every year I used to run against my dad on the beach over 50 metres. One year I flew past him and beat him by about 10 metres. I left him standing and he's never raced me since! It was a big moment in my life, to beat my dad. As if I'd suddenly become a man myself. I had just beaten the man who was, and would always be, a hero to me. All through my childhood I looked up to my dad and I still do, but to beat him then was very special.

We're a very competitive family and that meant that board games were always interesting! Whenever we played Monopoly, whoever was the banker would always win as money wouldn't stay in the bank! We used to fight and argue over the game when we were in our caravan, so the French neighbours must have wondered what the noise was in the evenings.

As a family we are all very proud of each other and what we have achieved. All of us children have done well. My brother is a surveyor, my sister is a teacher in Dubai and my other sister has worked on a private yacht. We're a very international family, too. I'm obviously used to travelling the world to compete in athletics, but my sisters have also found success abroad. Thanks to Mum and Dad, we have international tastes in food, as we were brought up to try out food from different countries. I've followed this tradition with my children and they aren't afraid to try any foods abroad.

People have asked whether I have ever wanted to trace my birth family. I say that my mum and dad are my mum and dad. I've never been interested in finding anyone else
.
My mum has been my mum as long as I have been aware, as I was hers from the age of three months. I know I was born in Nottingham, which is difficult for me as a very patriotic Welshman! And I know my dad was Jamaican and my mum was British. But I've never wanted to look beyond the wonderful family I have, because they are the only family I've known and they have given me the most amazing life. We don't look like each other, but they love me and I love them. They brought me up and they are my mum and dad. Why would I look for anything else? What would I be looking for? I've got all the answers I need. I have all the love and care of parents who chose to have me. I couldn't have been luckier.

As I have grown older, I think of my biological mum as someone who had to make a tough decision to have me, when she could have chosen not to, and I am thankful she made that choice. For me that's where it starts and finishes.

When I look back at my sporting schooldays, I was one of the best in school and I always really enjoyed taking part, but I was never
the
best. However, in athletics, from a young age, in running terms, I was pretty good. When I was about nine or ten years old, I was so much faster than everyone in my year. I could go up to the next year group to compete and still beat them, which doesn't happen often in schools, because at that age children get so much bigger and stronger in a year. I remember the day it all started to happen for me. It was a Sports Day in Henllys School, Cwmbrân, and I was ten years old and really enjoying myself doing an event called the obstacle race. You had to run with an egg and spoon for ten metres, go over a long wooden bench for another five metres, then get in a sack and jump in the sack for ten metres. Finally, you had to go underneath a mattress before sprinting for the finish. The race started and everyone was cheering. I set off running with the egg and spoon, went over the bench, jumped into the sack, went underneath the mattress and I ended up coming out at the side, not at the front as I was supposed to. The headmaster stuck firmly, and rightly, to the rules, and said, “You've got to go back to the start, Jamie.” So I went all the way back to the start, picked up the egg and spoon, went over the bench, jumped into the sack, went underneath the mattress, sprinted to the finish and won the race! I was twice as fast as the others, and that's when I really believe I started my athletics! I remember being determined to catch up and win, so I did. I wanted to be the fastest and I wanted to win.

Luckily for me, my headmaster, Mr Atkins, was a runner from Newport and he trained with Newport Harriers. He convinced me that I had a talent and suggested I join a club. So the following week, I went down with my mum and my granddad on a Tuesday night to the club to enrol. Even though I was young, I knew that this was something I really wanted to do. I trained that night, and I trained again on the following Thursday, as I could feel it was good for me. And, about a month later, I entered the local county championships and won the 100 metres.

I was lucky enough to have a head teacher who believed in the power of sport and who wanted to help me achieve. He took the time and effort to encourage me. I played lots of different sports – tennis, football, cricket – but athletics was my passion.

Mr Atkins was a really positive influence on me. I would see him at the running club and he would ask me how my running was getting on. As a young boy, I felt quite cool seeing my headmaster outside school. He showed an interest in my running and asked about my progress, and I felt proud that I was doing what he had asked me to try. There was a social aspect to the sport too, and that was exciting.

All my teachers became an important influence when they could see my talent. Mr Knight and Mr Hopkins taught PE in my secondary school, Risca Comprehensive, and would stay behind after school and coach me. I really appreciate how much of their time they gave to after-school clubs and teams. That to me is real dedication and I'm sure other pupils in my school feel the same way. School for me was a very happy time. My favourite subject was obviously PE but I also really enjoyed Art and Graphics. I didn't really like English or Mathematics, as I'm a more visual person, but I was quite good at Art. I remember drawing a picture in my Art class where half my face was my own and half was the face of a devil. In the background I drew a running track. The picture showed how I felt during the pain of training, how hard you had to work and that the devil comes out in you to get you to the finish line. I was very pleased with it and the teacher understood and could see what I was trying to show. My school reports always said the same thing: that I was happy and enthusiastic, or I was friendly and sociable, but the last line always said I needed to concentrate more. I think that's probably fair.

School was fun for me. I had lots of friends and I was a happy-go-lucky pupil. I was never alone, always had a lot of energy, and never liked sitting down too long. My favourite school day was always Sports Day. It was a day I could shine and I took part in as many events as I could.

However, probably one of the worst moments in my athletic career happened during one of my Sports Days. The whole school was watching as I competed in the long jump. I was really pleased that I could do the hitch kick like one of my heroes, Carl Lewis. I ran down the runway, jumped in the air, did a hitch kick and landed much further forward than anyone else. As I landed, though, I broke wind loudly. The crowd was silent until someone shouted loudly, ‘That was Baulchy!' I was so embarrassed. But the only way to deal with it was to throw my hands in the air, admit it and laugh at myself.

I was part of a very happy, positive group of people and I'm still best friends with people I was at school with. I'm very proud that we are still friends after all these years. Some of my friends I met playing Under Tens football and that shows the strength of our friendship. Matt Wintle, Chris Williams and Nick Pritchard are three friends who are very important to me. I first met Nick Pritchard on the school bus which took us all to Risca School. Nick was much bigger than me at the time. He turned around to me on the bus and, looking tough, said, ‘Where are you from, butt?' I wouldn't back down and said, ‘Cwmbrân, butt.' ‘So what do you do?' he said, and I announced, ‘I'm a runner.' We still laugh about that first meeting now. We did race. I won. But we're still best mates to this day.