On The Road To 2012: I have everything I could want here and I can't stand the cold

Postcard from St Kitts: Kim Collins

'I can’t deal with the cold, and in St Kitts I have good weather all year round,' says Kim Collins (right) (Getty Images)

I do all of my training at home here in St Kitts. There's no reason for me to go anywhere else. I've got everything I need on this island.

I have my own keys to the track and I have a gym in my house. You can do anything in my gym that you can do in any other. It's fully functional.

I can't deal with the cold, and in St Kitts I have good weather all year round. So, especially at this point in my career – at the age of 35 – I have it all at home.

The track is a Mondo surface, which is certified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. We got it in 2008. It's in good condition and very fast.

I've got great views when I train there. I'm on the track very early in the morning and I see the ships pulling into the harbour.

I can also see the planes coming into the airport and I have a view of the mountains in the background. It's pretty good.

There's a Kim Collins Highway on the island and we have a Kim Collins Day on 25 August, the day I wonthe 100m at the World Championships in Paris in 2003. Everybody's trying to nudge the Prime Minister to make it an official holiday.

The bronze medal I got at the World Championships in Daegu last summer shows not just what working hard can do, but working right. Hard work in track and field doesn't necessarily mean that's the right thing to do.

You have to really listen to your body. You have to eat correctly and make sure that you're resting. I did all of that and was able to come back very strong because my body was able to function properly.

I think the fact that I'm not a bulky sprinter has helped my longevity but the thing is we all come in different sizes, shapes and colours. I've seen every type of person run fast in terms of height, weight and colour.

I've seen many sprinters come and go. I know a lot of people think Usain Bolt is unbeatable but then I thought that at one point about Maurice Greene.

You can only last for so long. It's life. It's going to come to an end – for some sooner than later.

I have always been pretty relaxed before races, on the outside at least. You've got to find your own way of getting up for the big races. Regardless of how Usain Bolt behaves, that doesn't mean he's not nervous. He's a champion.

He's the one that everybody comes to beat. He has more at stake than anybody else, so he has to try to hide how he feels. We all try to do that.

I've always loved competing in Britain. I'll be in Birmingham for the Aviva Grand Prix on 18 February. It's all preparation for the London Olympics and the 100m there.

I know that everybody's talking about Bolt and Yohan Blake and Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell but there's always a newcomer. There's always someone who comes out of the blue in Olympic year and does well.

I think it's going to be unpredictable. I don't think we'll see what we think is going to happen in the 100m in London. So look out for a new champion.