The Story of Derek Redmond's Iconic Olympic Moment | Strangest Moments

Set... It's not how you start, it's how you finish. The old adage is true for every sport in the Olympics, be it taekwondo... ..table tennis... ..or triathlon. While a good start in any event is important... ..the real glory is at the end. A gold medal may be the ultimate glory in the Olympics. But sometimes something remarkable comes along to remind us of the true Olympic spirit. Something that shows Pierre De Coubertin's original vision. In 1992, British athlete Derek Redmond was one of those taking part in the 400 metres. Derek had missed out on taking part in Seoul 1988 by mere minutes. An injury meant that he withdrew and watched from the sidelines as Steve Lewis won gold for the US. But that was in the past. By Barcelona 1992, Derek was injury-free and determined to win a place on the podium. That wasn't something unfeasible either - he had already shown he was no stranger to winning. The year before, in 1991, he was part of the British 4 x 400m relay team that had won gold at the World Championships, and Derek was confident he could add to that success at the Olympics. His first heat was a solid run, with his quickest time in the last four years. A great start to the Games. By the second heat, Derek was starting to find his groove. He won his heat again, and looked like he still had plenty of gas left in the tank. Once it was time for the semifinals, Derek was confident he would be racing in the 400m final. He just had to get through this last test. I had a great warm-up, stride and everything went well, came out on the track, put my blocks down, no problems, told us to strip down, stripped down. Then you have the little bit where you're standing in your lane and they come and shove a camera in your face so everyone can see who you are, blocked that out and everything. He said, "On your marks, get set..." Listos... The race started well. I couldn't believe that I was running that quick. It's hard to tell positions in the 400m due to the staggering of the athletes, but Derek was holding his own, well within the time he would need to qualify for the final. Then it happened. The next thing I heard was a funny pop. Derek knew immediately that he was in trouble. The funny pop had been his hamstring tearing. A few more steps and he fell to the floor in agony. In severe pain, Derek could only hold his head in his hands as the other competitors sprinted to the finish. DEREK: I watched them go over the line, and obviously I knew it was over. Four years of hard work and waiting, and it was all over in the most painful way possible. But Derek had not travelled all this way to not finish another race. The bitter memory of missing out in Seoul had stayed with him. As medics came to help him off the track, Derek refused to go out without a fight. Obviously in pain, he was going to finish this race, no matter what it took. But Derek wouldn't have to finish this race on his own. Barging his way through the stands came his father, Jim, desperate to help his son in any way he could. Derek struggled through the pain to embrace the man who had done so much for his career. The pair continued down the last 100m. Back in Derek's home town, Northampton, the sight of seeing her brother and father struggle so dramatically sent Derek's pregnant sister into labour earlier than expected. In great pain, and struggling to move, Derek was in floods of tears as he finally crossed the line. But the crowd roared the pair on. And while Derek may have failed in his bid to win a medal, finishing the way that he did made him an instant celebrity. The sight of Derek using his father as a crutch has become one of the enduring Olympic images. People gave Derek messages of support from around the world, praising his sportsmanship and perseverance. It was the ultimate show of the Olympic spirit. Competing against the pain, despite the heartbreak, not for the glory of winning, but to cross that finish line, and proving you don't have to be a gold medallist to be an Olympic hero.

Channel: Olympics

Views: 852,079

Rating: 4.9209676 out of 5

Keywords: Olympic Games, Olympics, IOC, Sport, Champion, Strangest Moments, weird, wild, crazy, awesome, PLStrangeMoments, Derek Redmond, runner, running, yt:cc=on, track and field, ألعاب القوى, 田径, Athlétisme, Leichtathletik, Atletica, 陸上競技, 육상, Atletismo, Легкая атлетика, Athletics, gb, great britain, tragedy, Heartache, olympic spirit, barcelona 1992, barcelona, sprint, hamstring, injured, pain

Id: -_JUKNfYNpc

Length: 5min 20sec (320 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 17 2018