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Derek Redmond Quotes

born 1965 England

Derek Anthony Redmond (born 4 September 1965) is a British retired sprinter. During his career, he held the British record for the 400 metres sprint, and won gold medals in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the World Championships and European Championships.

England
Sportspeople

Random Derek Redmond quote

15 quotes

Of course I wish things had turned out differently, but I had the chance to run at two Olympics and I'll never forget it.

I wasn't aware of the crowd's reaction at that time; I wasn't really aware of anything at that point.

The physical pain was intense and that was all that was in my mind for the first few seconds or so.

I was expecting a handful of reporters but the whole room was packed out.

Then I had to withdraw with an Achilles injury.

If it makes you feel better, it will help, and the whole British team will have that benefit in 2012. The whole Games have been organised with them in mind.

I remember when the closing ceremony was taking place I stayed in my hotel room on my own; I didn't even watch. I never felt part of it or like I deserved to be there.

My hamstrings felt a little bit tight but nothing out of the ordinary. As a sprinter you get used to it after a few races in the space of a few days.

It was then that I became aware of my dad running over to me.

That was me done after that. I had about eight or nine operations but I was never fit enough to compete again.

In the semi-final I got out of the blocks well but after 150m or so it felt like I'd been shot in the back of the leg.

So we did, and I limped over the line in tears.

I strongly believe that having the Olympics in their home country will be a huge advantage for our athletes. To be in London will be a massive boost - our athletes will feel at home instantly.

In Seoul I was never settled in the hotel or the country and it totally affected my preparations. Every athlete is different but the time difference, the food, the noise, it all played its part to unsettle me.

There were some medical staff running over to me with a stretcher and ushering me to get on to it - but I just wanted to finish the race by that point.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Derek Redmond (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.