Derek Anthony Redmond (born 3 September 1965, in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England) is a retired British athlete. During his career, he held the British record for the 400 metres sprint, and won gold medals in the 4x400 metres relay at the World Championships, European Championshipsand Commonwealth Games.However, his career was blighted by a series of injuries, and he is best remembered for his performance at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelonawhere he tore his hamstring in the 400 metres semi-final but fought through the pain and, with assistance from his father, managed to complete a full lap of the track as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. The incident has become a well-remembered moment in Olympic history, having been the subject of one of the International Olympic Committee's 'Celebrate Humanity' videos and been used in advertisements by Visa as an illustration of the Olympic spirit and featured in Nike's "Courage" commercials in 2008.
Redmond first broke the British record for the 400 metres in 1985 with a run of 44.82 seconds. This record was subsequently broken by Roger Black, but Redmond reclaimed the record in 1987 with a run of 44.50 seconds. The record lasted until 1992.In 1986, Redmond was a member of teams that won the 4x400 metres relay gold medal at both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games. The following year, he was on the team that won the 4x400 metres relay silver medal at the World Championships.
At the 1991 World Championships Redmond was a member of the British team that shocked the athletics world by beating the much-favoured American team into second place to claim the gold medal in the 4x400 metres relay. Redmond ran the second leg in the final and, together with team-mates Roger Black, John Regis and Kriss Akabusi, ran what was then the second-fastest 4x400 metres relay in history.
Injuries consistently interrupted Redmond's career. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, he pulled out of the opening round of the 400 metres 90 seconds before his heat was due because of an injury to his achilles. Before the 1992 Summer Olympics, he had undergone eight operations due to injuries.
1992 Summer Olympics
However, he was in good form by the time of the Barcelona Olympics. He posted the fastest time of the first round, and went on to win his quarter-final. In the semi-final, Redmond started well, but in the back straight about 250 metres from the finish, his hamstring snapped. He hobbled to a halt, and then fell to the ground in pain. Stretcher bearers made their way over to him, but Redmond decided he wanted to finish the race. He began to hobble along the track. He was soon joined on the track by his father, Jim Redmond, who barged past security and on to the track to get to his son. Jim and Derek completed the lap of the track together, with Derek leaning on his father's shoulder for support. As they crossed the finish line, the crowd of 65,000 spectators rose to give Derek a standing ovation. However, as his father had helped him finish, Derek was officially disqualified and Olympic records state that he "Did Not Finish" the race.Redmond's struggle in the 1992 semi-final later became the subject of one of the International Olympic Committee's 'Celebrate Humanity' videos, which You can't measure courage". In 2008, Redmond was featured in the "Go World" series of Visa advertisements promoting the Olympic Games. The advertisement highlights his 1992 injury, noting that "he and his father finished dead last, but he and his father finished", narrated by actor Morgan Freeman.
On January 10, 2012, it was announced that his father Jim would be one of the Olympic torch bearers in London for the Summer Games.
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