Who is derek redmond 1992 olympics

Determined to finish the race he hobbled to the finish line with the help of his father as a 65,strong crowd cheered him on. This injury signalled an end to his athletics career, but, committed to not letting his injury keep him down, he has since played basketball for England and played rugby 7s.

He has worked with a wide range of high profile brands delivering his inspiring stories from the track in corporate environments. In , Redmond was forced to withdraw from the opening heat of the Olympic m contest only two minutes before the race was scheduled to begin. By the time of the Barcelona Olympics, he had undergone five operations, including one on his Achilles tendon less than four months before the Games began. In Barcelona, everything seemed to be coming together for Redmond at last.

He was running well: he recorded the fastest time of the first round and he won his quarterfinal heat. Science Technology Business U. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The Associated Press. At that moment, the bitter taste not just of a single defeat but of four years of wasted effort can simply be too much for some to handle.

What made this moment special was that it brought into focus not just the near-heroic desperation of a single professional athlete but a much more universal theme: the nature of parenthood. He never had a chance. Redmond travelled to two Olympics and both ended with injury-induced heartache, once in the most public circumstances. For all his ability as an athlete — and he was considered likely to win a medal in Barcelona — he will forever be remembered for tearfully completing his m semi-final using his father as a crutch.

His body never gave him the opportunity to redefine the way the world perceived him: two years after the Barcelona Games, following an 11th operation on his achilles tendon, his athletics career was over. This was his last race of any significance. Redmond had missed the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh with a hamstring injury, and withdrew from the Seoul Olympics minutes before his first heat having failed to recover from tendinitis, having had two painkilling injections that morning in an effort to make it on to the track.

The following summer, still plagued by injuries, he came close to giving up sport altogether. What the world witnessed in was a man who had been continually brought low by injury simply refusing to submit yet again. His body had given him some hope: in the first round Redmond had run his quickest m for four years.

I got a really good start, which was unusual for me. I think I was the first to react to the pistol. My normal tactics were to get round the first bend and then put the burners on for 30m, accelerate hard. About three strides later I felt a pop. It was his hamstring. Redmond collapsed to the floor, clutching his leg.