Olympic legend Linford Christie visits Jaguar Land Rover in Wolverhampton for truly inspiring reason

Former Olympic, World, European, and Commonwealth 100 metres champion Linford Christie was the guest of honour at Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton on Tuesday as part of a tour of some of JLR’s UK manufacturing sites.

He took part in a Q&A with members of staff, answering questions which ranged from his current training regime to the most impactful moment of his career and what sports he felt he could have excelled at apart from athletics.

Modest, friendly, full of humour and looking much younger than his 64 years, Linford answered every question fully and honestly and posed for pictures with everyone who wanted one, before then being given a guided tour of the site on the i54 South Staffordshire business park next to the M54.

The inspiring reason why Linford Christie visited JLR in Wolverhampton

His visit was organised by JLR as part of Black History Month, which runs throughout October, and Linford, who lived in Jamaica until he was seven-years-old, said he wanted to talk to people and share his experiences and struggles.

He said: "What we decided to do today is do a Q&A, rather that me talking and telling people about me, and they can ask the questions because if I tell them about me, maybe it's not what they want to hear.

"They get to ask a question they want to ask and it's just to give them a little more insight into what I did and maybe how I got to where I go to.

"The thing is, in order to be something, you have to go through something, and I think that if I didn't have struggles, maybe I wouldn't have been as successful as I am or have been."

The day was a way for the 1992 Olympic champion to talk through his story, which took him from humble beginnings. living with six people in two rooms, through discovering athletics and training to become the best in his field, but also talk about the work that went in behind the scenes.

He also said that he was living proof that you can achieve anything and go through struggles and come out the other end.

He said: "That's one of the things I wanted to talk about, to be able to show people what went in behind the scenes, because normally, they see the finished product and see me when I'm running races and winning.

"They don't see how hard I train and the things I've had to go through in order to get to where I got and it can, I suppose, resonate with some of the people because some of them might be going through struggles themselves and so for me to come through the other end, they might realise there is light at the end of the tunnel.

"I just try to tell people that with hard work and dedication, you can be anything you want to be and if you work hard and you get yourself out of it and if I can do it, and that's what I tell people, then anybody can do it if you just believe in yourself."

The visit of Linford Christie was part of JLR's dedication to recognising and celebrating Black History Month at JLR, and give everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of Black heritage and culture.

The company said it had seen growth in the number of ethnic minority colleagues progressing into leadership roles in the last five years and in its recent Inclusion Index (survey), the business has seen the biggest increase in ethnic-minority colleagues recommending JLR as an inclusive employer.

Senior diversity, equity and inclusion consultant Julie Rahman said it was a massive investment to have Linford Christie visit the site and support employees from all different diverse backgrounds.

She said: "Having someone who was a great athlete over the years and who's come through lots of adversities over the years to where he is today is massive for us.

"Our hopes from today are that we can see that JLR are moving forward to make sure that we want to make a truly inclusive workplace for all and that everyone can come into work and be their true, authentic self.

"Events like this do make a difference and give some joy to our employees to make sure they understand that they are valued as well."