Derek Redmond

Derek Redmond 2007

Derek Anthony Redmond (born September 3, 1965 in Bletchley , Milton Keynes , England ) is a former British athlete and Olympian.

1985 Redmond improved the British record in the 400-meter race of David Jenkins when he ran 44.82 seconds. At the European Championships in 1986 he reached fourth place with 45.25 seconds, Roger Black won gold with a new British record of 44.59 seconds. Redmond won gold in the British 4 x 400 meter relay in 2: 59.84 minutes (Derek Redmond, Kriss Akabusi , Brian Whittle , Roger Black).

At the 1987 World Championships , Redmond set a new British record in the semifinals with 44.50 seconds. In the final, he was fifth in 45.06 seconds; his semi-final time would have been enough for silver behind Thomas Schönlebe . He actually won silver in the relay competition, when Derek Redmond, Kriss Akabusi, Roger Black and Philip Brown only had to admit defeat to the US relay in 2: 58.86.

Years of injuries followed and it wasn't until 1991 that Redmond was back in the British relay at the World Championships after failing over 400 meters in the semifinals. The British fought a dramatic battle with the US squadron. Roger Black, the British starting runner, brought out a small lead over Andrew Valmon . In second place, Derek Redmond ran the fastest lap of all Britons, but was clearly behind Quincy Watts, who was running unleashed . John Regis brought the British closer to Danny Everett and on the final lap Kriss Akabusi overtook reigning 400 meter world champion Antonio Pettigrew . Black, Redmond, Regis and Akabusi ran 2: 57.53 minutes and won with four hundredths of a second ahead of the season from the USA.

After Redmond missed the 1988 Olympics due to injury, the 1992 Games would be the highlight of his career. Over 400 meters he had won the heat and second lap; in the semifinals, he pulled a hamstring at the rear thigh muscles. He still finished the race with the help of his father, who hurried from the stands to help him. In the second semifinal, David Grindley took the British record in the 400-meter run from him with 44.47 seconds.