Derek Redmond wasn’t thinking about the medal.
Barcelona, 1992. The British sprinter had won his heat and his quarterfinal, and was one of Great Britain’s great hopes in the 400 meters. Four years earlier, he had missed Seoul because of a ruptured Achilles tendon and had undergone several operations to return. In the middle of the semifinal, something tore in his right leg: his hamstring. He fell. The other runners kept going. He got up.
He limped forward, alone, with the entire stadium watching him. Then someone came down from the stands, dodged security officials, and caught up with him on the track. It was Jim Redmond, his father. Derek would recall that he said: “Derek, it’s me. You don’t have to do this”. He replied that he wanted to finish. As he later recounted, some guards even reached for their weapons, not knowing who the man was; Jim just said: “Let him go, I’m his father”.
The two covered the final meters together, with some 65.000 spectators applauding on their feet. Derek was officially disqualified for receiving assistance. That was his final 400-meter race. Jim, who was a torchbearer at London 2012, died in October 2022, at the age of 81.
He explained his decision to the BBC in one sentence: whatever happened, Derek had to finish, and he was going to help him.