NPR’s Laurel Wamsley reports:
“The father who helped his son cross the finish line at the Olympics has died.”
It was the 1992 Olympics, and honestly I wasn’t paying attention at the time, so while I’d love to say “oh yeah I remember that!” -- I can’t say that at all.
Great Britain's Derek Redmond limps to the finish line after tearing his hamstring at the 1992 Olympic Games, helped by his father Jim. S&G/PA Images via Getty Images
“Jim Redmond, the dad who was at the heart of one of the most memorable — and moving — moments in Olympic history died on Sunday at age 81. The news was reported by the British Olympic Association and Reuters.
The story begins at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. Derek Redmond was a sprinter for Great Britain, seeking to overcome the injuries that had plagued him...
In the semifinals...shortly before the race's halfway mark, he suddenly grimaced in pain and grabbed the back of his right thigh: his hamstring had torn. He crumpled to the track in pain and dismay, as the rest of the pack sprinted on.
Alone on the track, Redmond stood and began hopping on his left foot ...determined to finish the race. The crowd stood and cheered as Redmond limped slowly toward the finish line.
Then a figure emerged from alongside the track: Redmond's dad, Jim... ‘I saw my (son) having a problem and it was my duty to help,’ he told CBS News in 2012. ‘I actually went on the track to try to stop him inflicting further damage to himself...He asked me to get him back in that lane and I offered him a shoulder to lean on.’
Derek says “‘...I told him I was going to finish. Then he said that we would do it together,’ he told the BBC in 2012. ‘So we did, and I limped over the line in tears,’ the son remembered.”
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