Derek Redmond

Yesterday at church we were discussing finishing races--or life's race or something. We were talking about the Timothies and Titus, so there must be some sort of verse in there about races and the importance of finishing and not necessarily coming in first. I leaned over and told Em one of my favorite things that I ever watched, it's about Derek Redmond.
Back in 1992 he was one of the favorites for the gold medal for the 400 meters. About half way thru the semifinal race he grabbed his right thigh and then collapsed to the track: his hamstring had snapped. Some of the officials went over to him and workers started to bring a stretcher over, but when he realized that they wanted to take him off the track, he shrugged them off and started to walk to the finish line because he wanted to complete his race. You could see how much pain he was in as he limped down the track. Other officials tried to get him to quit, but he pushed them away. Then this man jumped from the stands and jogged over to him. Redmond tried to push him away, but then realized it was his father. When he leaned on his father for support, he broke down and started to cry. Another official tried to get Redmond to stop and get his dad off the track, but his dad, Jim, pushed him away and said, "I'm his father." Redmond got a standing ovation as he continued down the track and crossed the finish line, his father supporting him the whole way.
I still remember what Redmond said in the interview afterward, "I wasn't going to ------ well not finish the race." His dad said, "But whatever happens he had to finish, and I was there to help him finish. I intended to go over the line with him. We started his career together, I think we should finish it together."
I remember watching this the day it happened. It was my favorite moment from the Olympics that year, and very possibly the best thing I've ever seen in any Olympics I've watched. For years after the '92 Barcelona Games, I had this picture hanging on my wall to remind me to not give up.