FOR Chris Tomlinson, last year's golden boy of British athletics, life is no longer quite as glittering.

"This season hasn't gone brilliantly," Tomlinson said, with a fair degree of understatement.

Twelve months ago, the Nunthorpe lad's name was the sport's rising star in this country as he made a startling leap to prominence.

One of Britain's oldest national records, in the long jump, fell to Tomlinson as he chalked up 8.27m.

Consequently, he was thrust from relative obscurity into the position of gold medal favourite for the Commonwealth Games.

And then, on a sultry night in Manchester, Tomlinson began to find out about the slings and arrows of outrageous sporting fortune.

A sixth-place finish at the Commonwealths was a reality check; worse was to come, however.

A wretched run of form and injuries has given the 21-year-old a more sanguine outlook on life.

As he approaches Sunday's top-class athletics meeting at Gateshead, Tomlinson is older and wiser than the man who swept almost all before him in 2002.

He said: "The start of last year was awesome, with me jumping 8.27m and being able to jump over 8m quite consistently.

"But sometimes in life you suddenly hit a brick wall and things go downhill from there.

"Looking back, coming sixth in the Commonwealth Games wasn't as bad as I thought at the time because I was only 20.

"The year before, all I'd wanted to do was to get to the Commonwealth Games. Then, suddenly I was told I'd win it.

"No one in the long jump world knew who I was when I first came on the scene, and then I was top of the world rankings for a couple of months.

"Things then went wrong, and I got a three-and-a-half inch tear in my hamstring at the World Indoor Championships earlier this year.

"It's gone a bit pear-shaped - things like that hit your confidence - but I'm trying to learn from the experience, and become a better athlete and person.

"I'm 20kg stronger in the weights room from last year, and I'm faster, technically better and more mature.

"Michael Owen is always only one game away from scoring a hat-trick that will get his confidence going; I'm only one jump away from jumping 8m."

In front of his home support at Gateshead, Tomlinson will attempt to qualify for next month's World Championships.

To reach Paris, he must come close to equalling his British record by leaping 8.20m - a testing target after his difficult last few months.

But while Tomlinson is remaining upbeat, he is realistic enough to acknowledge that missing out on the Worlds would not be a crushing blow.

One senses he would almost be content to consider 2003 as a vital stage in his education; a year that will help him appreciate the good times even more - starting, hopefully, with the Athens Olympics.

Tomlinson said: "If I jump a personal best, I'll be right in contention for Paris. But I've got to do it rather than just talk about doing it.

"At the moment, I'm just missing a crucial part of the jump. I'm not really firing at the board, which is something I had last year.

"Things happen for you in sport when your confidence is up. I can't explain why, but that's not the case for me right now.

"I keep looking for a lucky break but I've got to be patient, get my fitness right, and hope it all comes together for me. I feel there's an 8m jump in me.

"This season has been about building up towards jumping well in Athens and hopefully getting a medal there. The Olympics is everything for an athlete.