Derek Redmond’s big moment
Derek Redmond, World Champion & Two Time Olympian (400m) was favourite for gold in Barcelona 1992 Olympics. Derek Redmond had waited and trained and prepared for four agonising years (since 10 minutes before his heat in Seoul 1998 Olympics he injured his achilles tendon and had to withdraw) . So he waited and prepared patiently for four long years. Lonely hours, thousands of hours training & waiting. And now he’s in Barcelona.
The fastest time
He had the fastest time in the first heat. In the second heat, Redmond ran beautifully. He was cruising. With 65,000 spectators and hundreds of millions of TV viewers watching this, arguably, the most savage of races, the 400m (because it is an all-out sprint stop sprint for 400m). When suddenly he heard a horrible ‘bang!’ It was the sound of his hamstring snapping. With 150m to go his hamstring snapped. He fell to the ground in agony and total despair. He dragged himself up and hobbled away from the oncoming stretchers.
Running on auto
Running on auto pilot, or auto compete, he knew it was all over but he was determined to finish the race. As he hobbled on in agony his father, Jim, broke through security and ran onto the track to help him complete the final 150 metres (and he let him hobble the last few metres solo).
Refusal to give up
Derek’s refusal to give up on a race he knew he had already lost has made him one of the world’s most popular sports stars. The emotional and inspirational footage continues to be seen the world over and was featured in a TV commercial for Visa Go World, the official sponsors of the 2008 Olympics. Derek was even mentioned by president Barack Obama during his speech about the Olympic spirit.
After his sprinting career
Derek played professional rugby for Coventry and also represented GB in basketball. He now drives and sponsors fast motorbikes and is an inspirational motivational speaker .
The sausage story
So here it is. The 60 second sausage story from Derek, well from his Dad, when I caught up with him at the noisy and busy Britain Means Business Show at the Excel Centre in London. So here’s his Sausage Story – which is really beautiful and inspirational. Pass it on.
Derek Redmond’s Dad’s ‘Sausage Story’
Thanks to Nick James who hosted the conference.
You can read a more detailed account of Derek’s Barcelona Olympics in Great Moments Of Sportsmanship, a collection of true two-minute stories about sportsmanship.
Alternatively, you can search for more stories by sport or by country on this web site (check out the categories on the right hand side of this page) – or insert a phrase into the on site search engine,or sit back and enjoy,chronologically, the emergence of amazing sportsmanship stories over time including World Cup 2014 Best Sportsmanship Moments and Immortal Brazilian Fans donating their organs!
Or you can get more new stories published on Great Sportsmanship facebook page. Spread the word….spread Derek Redmond’s Sausage Story.
If you liked this you might enjoy some more Olympic Stories:
Top Man Derek! Continuing with the fry-up analogy, Martina Navratilova was quoted as saying that “The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed”
Fabulous quote Brendan. Actually Martina’s twitter stream is worth following. She has responded and retweeted some of my sportsmanship tweets. A great lady.
Paul. You still haven’t put up my video of best told story.
Student from Stanford
Hi Yasir, yes I published your excellent video on our facebook page last Thursday (4 June) – You will have to ask your parents to show it to you as you are under age. Ask them to look at http://www.facebook.com/GreatSportsmanship and scroll downwards ds to 4 June. Or click on this https://www.facebook.com/GreatSportsmanship/videos/832237286825127/
Greta story telling skills. Keep it up. Best wishes, Paul
Thank you.
This story is heart touching. Derek’s father is so supportive and caring. This story is inspiring. This story is one of my favourites.
Glad to hear it Raagavi. Please do remember Derek’s Dad’s sausage story. It helps us all in life to remember his wise words. You can watch the video again and again (or show it to friends whenever you want.
It is sad and really unfair for Derek when his leg started to hurt. I liked it when his Dad came to help him because it showed how much determination Derek had to finish the race.
It is sad and seems unfair, Oskar, but that’s life. injuries happen. The great thing is to pick yourself up when things go wrong and become stronger when things go wrong. His Dad’s sausage story is brilliant too (the third video).
This video nearly made me cry.
It made me cry! The video of Derek in Barcelona.
This is my favourite story because is shows if your injured carry on and that some one is always there to support you and thats why people will love you. That is true sportsmanship.It really makes you cry , watch the viedo
Yes Adna, Derek’s Dad is a great man and his sausage story (video) at the end is worth watching every year!
This was A VERY inspirational story. It helped me in my assessments.
Glad to hear it Shathviha
Hi Paul,thank you for coming to our school.This video really made me cry.We hope you come back soon to watch our lovely presentation.Thank you
Well Kala I finally came back and hear your amazing presentations. I apologise for taking so long to respond. Please do remember Derek’s Dad’s advice and pass it on to others.
Hi Paul. I really like this story – it made the whole class cry.
Wow Thearsa, I am delighted to hear that the whole class connected with the story. It is wonderful to hear this. Thanks for telling me. Please share the video with other people .
This is a fantastic story.It’s very emotional and nearly made me cry.
Me too Maria! In fact, the first two videos showing Derek on the track does make me cry! Derek’s Dad is a great man too. It is great to see his Dad helping him on the track in Barcelona and years later the son, Derek, telling a great story about his Dad. Remember the sausage story and share this story with other people – send them the link.
The video is very touching, and now i know that no matter the pains i might be going through in life, i should always remember that someone is out there to help me…Nice 1…