Athletics: Edwards left alone at top of rankings

"England's, England's number one," the Toon Army had chorused at St James' Park on Saturday lunchtime as Alan Shearer put the outcome of the Tyne and Wear derby beyond dispute – well the majority of the Toon Army, that is.

Some 1,500 miles away, on the outskirts of Madrid, Jonathan Edwards, triple jumper supreme and loyal Toon Army member, was getting ready for his final competition of the 2002 track and field season. By Saturday night, for the eighth successive year, the Gateshead Harrier was confirmed in his own event as, indisputably, the world's number one.

Following his victory on the second and concluding day of the ninth IAAF World Cup in the Estadio Comunidad, Edwards was more animated when told of the 2-0 success by his beloved black and whites than he was when discussing his continued place at the pinnacle of the athletics world or the question of his future in the sport. "They won 2-0?" he said. "Who scored? Bellamy and Shearer? That's great."

As the curtain came down on a successful season for British athletics, Edwards was left standing apart as the only male British athlete at the top of the world rankings.

He was also the only individual winner from a British men's squad which finished seventh out of nine teams – the lowest placing in four World Cup appearances.

With a last-round jump of 17.34m, Edwards secured a victory that gave him a 5-4 win record for the season against third-placed Christian Olsson, the young Swede who snatched his European title in Munich last month.

"I've also got the three farthest jumps in the world this year, so I think I've got a reasonable case to still be number one," said Edwards.

"It's like with boxing. If you're the title holder, then the person who wants to take over has to demonstrate very clearly they are number one."

By that measure, Edwards is threatening to become the Rocky Marciano of the triple jump, having gone through the vast chunk of his career undefeated in the world rankings, if not in every major championship. And that is a feat which even Colin Jackson, with 16 years among the world's élite and his Fort Knox collection of gold medals cannot come close to matching.

"It's been a really good year," Edwards mused. "At 36, it's fantastic to still have a season like this. It's 10 years since I last won at the World Cup and I jumped the same distance then."

Asked whether he might still be jumping 17.34m in 2012, Edwards laughed, before addressing the burning question of his future intentions.

"I plan to start training again," he said. "But it's one thing to be excited, relaxed and smiling when you're jumping well. It's another thing when it's cold and wet at Gateshead stadium."

So might we be seeing the world's greatest-ever triple jumper at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham in March?

"I'll see," he replied. "But my intention at the moment is certainly to start training again."

Jackson, too, will be back in training after his end-of-season break – and with his sights set on the World Indoor Championships. That will be the final hurdle for the 35-year-old Welshman, though in Madrid on Saturday he ran the outdoor 110m hurdles for the 408th and last time.

His era ended with disqualification after clipping two of the first three hurdles, stumbling, pushing down the fourth barrier and grinding to a halt before carrying on to cross the finish line in 22.16sec, a new personal worst for the man whose world record stands at 12.91sec.

"I've still got a job to do," Jackson said. "I'm looking forward to getting to the World Indoor Championships and to winning there."

Whether Edwards will be there remains to be seen. For the time being, the world's number one is only looking forward to seeing the Toon Army's "number one" hero playing on the European stage against Feyenoord tomorrow.