Nick Buckfield admits he will always live with the knowledge that he failed to fulfill his potential after bringing his colourful career to an end on Monday.

Buckfield chose the low-key Tom Lintern open meeting at Crawley’s K2 Centre to round off a career which included two Olympics, a British record and a series of horrific injuries.

But despite competing at the top level for almost 20 years Buckfield believes bad luck and fitness problems cost him the chance of glory on the international stage.

A fifth place finish at the 1997 World Championships in Athens was arguably the pinnacle of his achievements while he also narrowly missed out on the medals at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Buckfield’s British record of 5.81m has stood for 13 years but he was unable to build on that after suffering a fractured pelvis in 1998, impaling himself on his pole in 2004 and rupturing his Achilles in 2006.

He had hoped to end his career by qualifying for a third OIympics but once again injury stood in his way when he strained a hamstring two weeks before the trials.

The 35-year-old said: “I was very fortunate to do something I love for such a long time and had some great experiences but the one thing that hurts is that I don’t think I fulfilled my potential.

“I think I could have been a six metre jumper if things had panned out differently but that won’t go down in the record books. Before I got injured in 2004 I felt I was going to jump really, really high and that is something I will always carry with me.

“I trained with Olympic silver medallist Toby Stevenson and with the training group of Sergei Bubka’s ex-coach Vitaly Petrov in Italy. I matched everything they could do and perhaps even more.

“The Italians were jumping 5.90m and Toby has jumped 6m and there wasn’t anything they were better than me at so I really believe I had the potential to make my mark if it wasn’t for bad luck and injuries.

“I have ended my career with two regrets. Not achieving my full potential and not medalling at a major championships but you can’t turn back time. I gave it my best shot but the cards were laid out differently then I would have liked.

“I am still pleased with what I have achieved. I had the best ever performance by a British athlete in the pole vault at the World Championships and am still the British record holder.

“I’ve got memories that I will cherish forever like competing alongside a living legend in Sergei Bubka and walking into the Olympic Stadium in Sydney and hearing 100,000 people roaring.”

Buckfield intends to take a break from athletics in the immediate future but would like to be given a role coaching Britain’s top pole vaulters.

He is already working with one of the most exciting prospects in the country in Andy Marsh who he has tipped to take his British record off him one day.

Buckfield added: “I am not going to lose touch with the sport. I would like to get a job with UK Athletics as a pole vault coach but I know I can’t just walk out of competing and instantly be a great coach.

“But I am willing to learn and my coach says I could be one of the best in the world so maybe that is my next avenue. I would like to be able to share what I have learned over my career and give someone else a kick-start.

“For now though I want to focus on my family instead of always thinking about my next training session. You become very self absorbed as a full time athlete so it’s time I gave them something back.”