I felt I was on track to recapture some of the form from ‘95. I jumped 17.74m in poor conditions at the Europa Cup in Munich, which would have been worth 18m on a good day with a bit of a breeze behind Ironically, it was on that jump that I injured my heel. The week after that, virtually on one leg, I jumped 17.54m at Sheffield, beating Kenny Harrison. Again, on that day if I hadn’t had the problem with my heel I’m sure I would have jumped 18m.”I don’t see 18m as a barrier I’m quite capable of jumping that, and jumping further I don’t think the world record is out of sight by any means. It’s just a question of getting back into that physical and mental shape I was in back in 1995.”It is clear, as Edwards polishes off his mid-day meal, that the hunger for his chosen profession has returned. He may yet, as one expert calculated from computer analysis of his world championship series in Gothenburg, push forward the triple jump barrier to the 19m mark and perhaps beyond. But there are other fresh challenges beckoning beyond the indoor season to keep his appetite sharp.

Edwards has yet to strike gold at the European Championships or the Commonwealth Games, the two major championships this summer.British athletics could do with striking gold too, of course. Edwards is one of the creditors still awaiting settlement following the financial collapse of the British Athletic Federation. It has been reported that he is owed some pounds 75,000 in appearance money.”That figure’s not far away from the truth,” he said. “But it looks like the creditors might not end up with a bad deal: perhaps in excess of 50p in the pounds 1, which perhaps in reality is all we deserved last year. A lot of things have been said about greedy athletes but I think if the full extent of the federation’s problems had been known the vast majority of athletes would have accepted a 50 per cent pay cut.”It is quite possible that the whole thing will be much more professional now, with the commercial side of the sport taken out and a new governing body set in place, funded through the Sports Council, and much more streamlined. If that happens, it is what everyone has been saying has needed to happen for years and years It is just unfortunate the way it has come about.

But perhaps in a few years people will look back and say it was the best thing that could have happened.”Ultimately it’s down to the athletes, isn’t it ? You can have the most professionally run sport around but if at the top level we don’t deliver then it’s not going to capture the imagination again, the way it has done in previous years.”Like it did in the summer of 1995, he might have mentioned, when an unassuming Englishman leapt into the world record books.. IF THERE was anyone happier than Colin Montgomerie over New Year, it would have to have been the Scot’s bank manager. Monty’s first deposit of the year, after winning the Andersen Consulting World Championship, was a cool $1m. This is nothing unusual for someone whose sterling efforts over the last few years have pushed his career earnings in Europe over pounds 6m. Winnings of pounds 798,947 gave Montgomerie his fifth successive Order of Merit victory in 1997, and although he is skipping this week’s tour opener, the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand, much more will be coming his way in ‘98.
But nothing separates the haves from the have-nots more than the money- list table.

Paul Curry, a former winner of the Jersey Open, earned pounds 50,057 but by finishing 118th on the Order of Merit he missed out on regaining his card by one place. Worse happened to those not much further down the list who failed to win in excess of pounds 40,000 and made a loss on the season.For any young rookie fresh out on tour, retaining their card is the season- long objective. However, the business of finding the pounds 1,250 (on average) each week, to cover flights, hotels, meals, a caddie and any other necessary expenses, is the most immediate concern.The figures suggest it is a struggle. Only 6 of the 15 newcomers from the Challenge Tour retained their cards last year together with 9 out of 45 from the Qualifying School, an overall pass mark of 25 per cent.However great the rewards might be later on, for those trying to establish themselves on tour the security of a sponsor makes all the difference.

But finding someone to bankroll your dream is not as straightforward as it seems. A little ingenuity is called for.Maarten Lafeber is one of three Dutch players to gain places on the tour from last November’s Qualifying School. The 23-year-old from Eindhoven has formed a company called Future Golf and has issued 7,500 shares at 100 Guilders (around pounds 35) each. In order to publicise his initiative, Lafeber called a press conference and was featured on Dutch television, as well as in the newspapers and golf magazines. From the sale of the shares, Lafeber, who had a handicap of plus-four when he turned professional at the end of last year, has around pounds 250,000 to finance his first five years as a professional golfer There is a catch, though “All the money I make will go to the company,” he explained. “If I don’t play well, people will not get their money back.”But if everything goes according to plan, Lafeber, who is being helped in the project by Andersen Consulting and the Dutch bank Theodoor Gilissen, will be able to give his shareholders a handsome return on their money. “After three years I have the option to buy back the shares for 150 Guilders.