Derek Johnson

Derek Johnson ( Derek James Neville Johnson ; born January 5, 1933 in Chigwell , Essex , † August 30, 2004 ) was a British middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800-meter course , but also in the 4-by-400 Meter relay was successful.

Life

In 1954, starting for England , he won gold over 880 yards in 1: 50.7 minutes at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver in front of his compatriot Brian Hewson . As the final runner of the English team, he won another gold medal in the 4x440-yard relay in 3: 11.2 minutes. Shortly afterwards he was fourth in the 800 m at the European Athletics Championships in Bern . In 1: 47.4 minutes, the same time was stopped for him as for third-placed Norwegian Audun Boysen , while the Hungarian Lajos Szentgáli won in 1: 47.1 minutes. The British In the 4 x 400 meter relay , the British quartet with Johnson as the last runner crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified.

At the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Johnson won silver in 1: 47.8 minutes behind the American Tom Courtney and ahead of Boysen. The British relay with John Salisbury , Michael Wheeler , Peter Higgins and Johnson as final runners won bronze in 3: 07.1 minutes behind the teams of the United States and Australia.

In 1957 Johnson set his personal best with a British record of 1: 46.6 minutes. At the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958 , he won silver behind the team from South Africa in 3: 09.61 minutes in the 4x440-yard relay. At the European Championships in Stockholm , Johnson was seventh over 800 m in 1: 49.2 min.

Derek Johnson was 1.76 m tall and weighed 66 kg during his playing days. He studied medicine at the Lincoln College of Oxford University . After he had to give up his sporting career in 1959 because of tuberculosis, he was later active in sports politics. As a member of the International Athletes Club , in 1980 he vigorously and ultimately successfully opposed the boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, which the Thatcher government was pursuing .

After a long illness, he died of leukemia in 2004 .

Top performances

• 400 meters : 47.7 s, 1958
• 800 meters : 1: 46.6 min, 1957
• 1500 meters : 3: 42.9 min, 1959
• Mile : 4: 05.0 min, 1957

literature

• Peter Matthews (Ed.): Athletics 2005. SportsBooks, Cheltenham 2005, ISBN 1-899807-27-6 .
• Ekkehard zur Megede: The Modern Olympic Century 1896-1996 Track and Field Athletics. German Society for Athletics Documentation eV, Neuss 1999.
• Bob Phillips: Honor of Empire Glory of Sport. The History of Athletics at The Commonwealth Games. Parrs Wood, Manchester 2000, ISBN 1-903158-09-5 .