Which athletes’ sportsmanship has brought tears to your eyes?

"Strength is measured in kilograms, speed is measured in seconds. What about courage? You can't measure courage!"

This is what the International Olympic Committee said after the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. A line of copy in a promotional video produced. The protagonist of this sentence is the one we are going to talk about in today’s video, British sprinter Derek Redmond.

Derek was born in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, and his ancestors were West Indian immigrants. At the age of 20, Derek ran a time of 44.82 in the 400m, which successfully broke the British 400m record. Although this result was later broken by teammate Roger Black, Derek ran 44.50 in Rome in 1987 and added the British record to his own name.

In 1986, Derek joined the British 4x400m relay team and won the 4x400m silver medal at the World Championships the following year.

Derek participated in the Olympic Games for the first time in 1988. On the track of the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, before the first round of the 400-meter preliminaries, Derek signaled to the referee that he wanted to withdraw from the competition. At this time, there were only 90 seconds before the start of the competition. .

Due to his Achilles tendon injury, Derek had to end his first Olympic trip in a hurry.

Fortunately, Derek recovered very successfully. In the 4x400m competition at the 1991 World Championships, Derek and his teammates Roger Black, John Regis, and Kriss Akabusi ran 2:57.53, defeating the strong American team. Get the gold medal.

However, injuries caused Derek to suffer. Before the 1992 Olympics, Derek had at least eight surgeries due to injuries. Although Derek had recovered 100% before the start of the Olympics, injuries were always with Derek like a time bomb.

Derek had a very good start in the semi-finals. Regardless of his physical condition, he accelerated in the middle of the race, but a bang 250 meters from the finish line ended Derek's journey to the second Olympic Games.

Derek's right hamstring was torn, and the pain prevented him from standing. He could only half-kneel on the track, covering his head with one hand to support his knee. From the corner of his eye, he could see other opponents already running past him, heading towards the finish line that he had only dreamed of crossing.