Where it all began
From the moment I could run, I was fast. I always won the Hampshire School Championships, but I never trained or joined a club until I started with Southampton Athletics Club after a biology grade D meant I had to resit my A-levels. The 400m training group included Kriss Akabusi and Todd Bennett. I started chasing them up the hill.
My breakthrough moment
Within two months I got my first international vest. By the end of the year I was European junior champion and British junior record-holder. It was very clear I could do something special. A year later I was Commonwealth and European champion and British record-holder. When you’ve done that, you can win Olympic medals. Then I broke my foot and the next 12 years were a battle with injury.
The trainer I looked up to
Mike Whittingham helped me to get back after breaking my foot and coached me for most of my career. He was an ex-athlete who understood how to rehabilitate.
My childhood hero
Kevin Keegan. One of the reasons I could run fast was that I was a Southampton fan who went to school in Portsmouth and one of the great days in my life was when Keegan moved from Hamburg to Southampton. We became friends, but I don’t see him much now . . .
Athletics never got better than
The only moment I felt utter peace was standing on the Atlanta Olympics rostrum in 1996, having won 400m silver behind the great Michael Johnson. At 30 I was never going to make another Olympics. I could have retired that day and it would have been fine. The overriding emotion was completion.
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Morning I had the hangover to end all hangovers
I was 17. On Christmas Eve we went to our local pub and drank whisky. I missed the entire Christmas Day. I’ve never drunk whisky since. Even the smell of it makes me sick.
My favourite track
Olympic Stadium, Tokyo. I won the relay gold and individual silver there at the 1991 World Championships and I really loved walking Tokyo’s streets, trying all kinds of sushi.
My least favourite track
I never ran well at Crystal Palace. The journey to get there was horrible and the hotel was rubbish. It was terrible.
My toughest opponent
Johnson. He brought world-record 200m running to the 400 and changed the event for ever. He didn’t talk to many people but he always talked to me and was so respectful.
Funniest moment from my career
My first international was an indoor race at RAF Cosford, in Shropshire. When we got on to the track, there were running blocks laid out. I’d never used them, but there’s no option in international competition. I’m there on television looking stupid until Akabusi jumped in and set them up for me.
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What I learnt most from
Understanding that if you want to run fast, find fast people. Value other people because together you can take each other to places you wouldn’t go alone.
I knew the game was up when
I stood down from the Atlanta rostrum. It was never 100 per cent for me again. I hung on for two years, but young British athletes started beating me. That hurt, but it was OK because I had my Olympic medal in my pocket.
My one regret
In 1991 I should have won the World Championships. I came second by two-hundredths of a second to the American Antonio Pettigrew, whom I had beaten many times. I ran a bad race and never again had the chance to be a global champion.
Best advice for a young sportsperson
You can learn to go faster, but there’s an unfairness to running. I’m an example of doing no training for years before turning up and winning a race because of natural talent. At the highest level there’s a technical essence, but the skill of running is minimal, so get obsessed. Don’t see it as work or a chore. For me, getting up early to train wasn’t easy, but it was a joy.
● To contact Roger Black visit www.hallsandhalls.com and www.rogerblackfitness.com
