The character arc of Derek Redmond
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 4 September 1965 in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, to West Indian immigrant parents. Between then and now sit a British 400 metres record at nineteen, a European relay gold in 1986, a reclaimed British record in 1987, a world relay gold in 1991 that beat the favoured American team, eight operations before the 1992 Olympics, a torn hamstring 250 metres from the line in the Barcelona semi-final, a father who barged past security to get to him, a surgeon telling him he would never run again, and a second career as a professional basketball player. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Derek Redmond?
His father came over the barrier. They finished it together.
He was a serious athlete long before the day everybody remembers. He first broke the British 400 metres record in 1985, at nineteen, with 44.82 seconds, lost it to Roger Black, and took it back in 1987 with 44.50 at the World Championships in Rome. He was British champion four times. In 1986 he was in the team that won European relay gold, and in 1991 he ran the second leg of the British relay team that beat the heavily favoured Americans at the World Championships in what was then the second fastest 4 by 400 ever run.
The injuries never stopped. At the 1988 Olympics he withdrew from his heat ninety seconds before it started because of his Achilles. By the time of Barcelona he had already had eight operations.
He arrived in 1992 in good form, posted the fastest time of the first round and won his quarter-final. In the semi-final he started well, and then, in the back straight about 250 metres from the line, his hamstring tore. He hobbled to a stop and went down.
Stretcher bearers came over. He decided he wanted to finish, and started hobbling. His father Jim barged past security and onto the track, got to him, and the two of them completed the lap together with Derek leaning on his shoulder. Sixty five thousand people stood up. Because his father had helped him, he was disqualified, and the Olympic record states that he did not finish the race.
Two years later a surgeon told him he would never run again or represent his country in any sport. He came to terms with it and, with his father encouraging him, turned to other sports. He played professional basketball for the Birmingham Bullets and for England. He has worked as Director of Development for sprints and hurdles at UK Athletics, commentated, presented, and since 2015 has been a performance director at an assessment company. His father carried the Olympic torch in London in 2012 and died in October 2022, aged eighty one.
The moments
Derek Redmond's timeline.
The 1960s
Born in Bletchley
Everyday. Bletchley, and a sports hall with his name on it.
The 1980s
A British record at nineteen
Milestone, and it changed everything. Nineteen years old, and the fastest Briton ever.
European relay gold
Milestone, and it changed his direction. His first gold in a national vest.
He takes the record back
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Lost it, then went and took it back.
Ninety seconds before the heat
Setback, and it changed everything. Ninety seconds before the gun, and it was over.
The 1990s
They beat the Americans
Milestone, and it changed everything. Second fastest ever run, and they beat the Americans doing it.
Eight operations
Setback, and it changed everything. Eight operations, before he even got to Barcelona.
Two hundred and fifty metres out
Setback, and it changed everything. Leading, in form, and then the leg went.
His father comes onto the track
Milestone, and it changed everything. Sixty five thousand people stood up.
Take the stretcher, or walk it
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: get up and finish it, taken, or take the stretcher. He was disqualified for it, and it is the only thing from those Games that anybody still shows people.
Did not finish
Setback, and it changed everything. The record says he did not finish. He finished.
Told he would never run
Setback, and it changed everything. A surgeon told him that was the end of it.
Professional basketball
Milestone, and it changed everything. Told he would never represent his country again, he went and did it in another sport.
The 2000s
Coaching and broadcasting
Milestone, and it changed his direction. He stayed in the sport from the other side.
The lap, everywhere
Milestone, and it changed everything. He and his father finished dead last, but they finished.
The 2010s
His father carries the torch
Milestone, and it changed everything. Twenty years on, they gave the torch to his dad.
The official record still says he did not finish, and everybody who saw it knows better. What he set moving is the most watched eighty seconds in British athletics, in which a man who had lost the race, and would never run another one, decided that getting to the line still counted for something.
Your turn
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His turned on a decision made on the ground, in pain, with a stretcher already beside him. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Derek Redmond: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Derek Redmond's character arc?
What happened to Derek Redmond in Barcelona?
Who helped Derek Redmond finish?
Was Derek Redmond disqualified?
What did Derek Redmond win?
What did Derek Redmond do after athletics?
Where does this timeline of Derek Redmond's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Derek Redmond, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- His British record and championship results, as that biography sets them out.
- The International Olympic Committee Celebrate Humanity video.
- The 2008 Olympic advertising campaign narrated by Morgan Freeman.