Former Olympic 100 metres champion Linford Christie said that he is open to offers to coach in India and it is a myth that only the black Americans and the West Indians can be top men sprinters.
"I am interested in coaching youngsters. At present I am coaching British athletes. Someone helped me in my formative years and I am keep to help others. If I get the right offer I am open to coach in India," the 1992 Olympic 100 metres winner said in Mumbai on Friday.
The 44-year-old Briton, one of the four Brand Ambassadors for Sunday's Standard Chartered International Mumbai Marathon, said: "It's a myth that only black Americans and West Indians can sprint well. I don't agree to this. But sprinters are born. I was born to sprint."
Christie, who was the first from his country to win the Olympic men's 100 metres gold after Allan Wells in 1980 at Moscow, said he could never even think of running even the 7-km Dream Run which he being held as part of the Mumbai Marathon.
"I can only dream of running that race. I have never run beyond 800 metres even in practice. People have told me it will be fun to run here. For me, 26 miles [marathon distance] can never be fun. I am not born to run beyond 400 metres," the former World, European and Commonwealth champion said.
Asked about why the Africans excel in distance running, Christie said it is a combination of the altitude in which people like the Kenyans live and also their life style.
Asked about the menace of doping, Christie himself a former dope offender in 1999, said that media should focus on the good aspect of the sport and not on its negative side.
"It's like those breaking the speed limit in driving. There are in a minority. The majority are clean in athletics. The media should focus on the orderly athletes," the Briton said.
"Unfortunately in our sports you are guilty (of dope offence) unless proved innocent because of the finger of suspicion. It would be better to focus on the good side of the sport," he reiterated.
Christie said he is surprised that a big country like India has not produced top level sprinters of world standards.
"If you can't run below 10 seconds in the 100 metres you can't compete at the world level," he pointed out.
He also agreed with the views expressed earlier in the day by his countryman and former 800metres Olympic champion Steve Ovett that one can't hope to make a living out of athletics in most countries of the world.
"The wages in this sport have gone down over the years. We don't have a representative body to deal with the organisers of the athletics meets. Only a handful of athletes around the world can be said to be making a decent living. It's not as glamorous as it seems from the outside," Christie added.
Talking about his long-time rivalry with American sprinter and long jump icon Carl Lewis, Christie said the former was a formidable foe and it always gave him great satisfaction when he beat Lewis in a race.
Unfortunately those instances were not many, he remarked ruefully.
Christie said that the balance of power in men's sprinting, which seemed to have veered away from the Americans when he and later Jamaican Donovan Bailey were on top, has once again shifted back to the US.
Christie said it was not difficult for him to make the transition from an active athlete to a former champion.
"I had set up my sports management company and then started coaching youngsters. It was easy to make the transition," he said.
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