Derek Redmond

Despite his initial success, Derek was plagued with injuries throughout his career. Most notably, he tore his hamstring at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, as he raced in the 400metre semi-finals. Held up by his father, Derek limped a full lap of the track to cross the finish line, the crowd erupting in a standing ovation.

Though he was disqualified, the moment firmly positioned Derek as an inspirational figure. The video clip was the focus of the International Olympic Committee's "Celebrate Humanity" campaign, has featured in advertisements as a symbol of perseverance, and featured in a Nike commercial in 2008, entitled Courage.

Born to West Indian immigrants in Buckinghamshire, Derek’s childhood school, Roade School, named its sports hall after him. In 1985, he broke his first British record when he ran the 400metres in 44.82 seconds. Though this record was later broken again by Roger Black, Derek reclaimed it in 1987.

Featuring as a member of the GB team in 1986, Derek won a gold medal in the 4x400 relay Champions. In the following year, he won a silver medal in the same sport, at the World Championships. By 1991, Derek had positioned himself in the realm of respected athletes. At the World Championships, his team shocked spectators when they beat the dominant American team to secure gold in the relay.

Since his retirement, Derek has turned his attention to motivating others with his story and life lessons. Despite his injuries, he wasn’t done with the world of sport just yet, so went on to play professional basketball with the Birmingham Bullets and raced motorbikes with the Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club, a race that consisted of relay and endurance. Sparking a love of bikes, Derek now owns a superbike team.

Since 2015, Derek is a psychometric assessor with Thomas International. As their Group Performance Director, he offers corporate workshops to improve employees wellbeing, productivity and motivation to succeed. As a motivational speaker, he regularly gives presentations on the importance of believing in yourself despite adversity, reflecting upon his experiences to inspire others.

"we thought the event was brilliant. Very engaging, tech worked very smoothly and Derek’s stories really struck a chord with our staff. We had c. 200 attendees. Feedback from attendees so far has been glowing. Thank you for all your support in arranging! " - Maria, Ministry of Defence

"The feedback from our event has been hugely positive and Derek was very well received by all who attended. Some verbatim feedback included: I thought Derek Redmond was really interesting, Derek's session was fantastic, Derek was very uplifting and enjoyable to listen to and Derek's session was excellent and very motivational. Thanks so much and we will, of course, share your details if anyone else in our organisation requires an external speaker" - Lisa, Fidelity International

"You were TREMENDOUS! We have had so many people saying how inspired they were by you and what you said. Also how much they appreciated you sharing your personal experience and wisdom. The feedback has been overwhelming and all positive. We had 350 people on the call at different points, which is a great turnout for Arup. Thank you very, very much for taking the time to participate in the panel discussion. I am thrilled to have met you virtually. You made a hugely important and valuable contribution to making the event a success. We really appreciate it. Thanks on behalf of everyone at Arup who attended" - Andrea, Director Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Arup

"Derek went down very well. He was enthusiastic and his passion infectious. People really connected with his story and I had a couple of people message me afterwards to thank us for setting it up" - Guy, TT Electronics

"Derek was an absolute delight! So professional, helpful and entertaining- honestly, I could not believe how pleasant he was to work with. Sometimes it feels as if the speaker is just there to do the slot and not a second more but that was definitely not the case with Derek. He was a wonderful guest, speaker and host. Highly, highly recommend" - Caron, Media Nett

“Derek was an inspiration over the 3 days, I have never seen so many people in one room engaged when Derek was speaking. Everyone who attended the conference are still talking about him today. The speech was a great climax to the conference, please pass on our thanks. We would recommend Derek to any organisation looking for a motivational speaker, even after watching him every day for 3 days, I still enjoyed the speech as much each time.” – Carol Sales, Tunstall Healthcare (UK) Ltd

"Derek provided some valuable insights into team building/leadership by expressing them in a sporting context. His delivery was professional, funny, honest and extremely engaging. Furthermore, whilst off the stage as well as on, he was very personable and endeared himself to everyone in the team." - Lloyds Bank

"We worked with Derek for an online event this year, and he was absolutely fantastic. Extremely professional and really easy to work with. His talk, even though it had to be done online due to the pandemic, was very interesting and all the feedback we received from our guests was positive. Very happy to recommend him for any event." - Clint, Casual Business