Linford Christie OBE

Linford Christie OBE

Linford Christie was the greatest sprinter Britain produced, an athlete who emerged onto the scene at a late stage in life for an athlete and carved out an unique niche. Jamaican born Christie was the middle child of seven. He came to Britain when he was seven and lived in Shepherd’s Bush. Though he left school when he was 16 and had a different number of jobs, sport always held a place in his heart and he was coached at the West London Stadium near his home by Ron Roddan, who remained his mentor for his whole career where he ran for Thames Valley Harriers. His 23 major championships medals, which included 10 golds, is a British male record along with his 26 national titles, and he was, and arguably still is, among the most famous sportsmen in the country. His two greatest moments came within a year of each other, when he won the Olympic 100m gold medal in Barcelona in 1992 before winning the World title in Stuttgart 12 months later. Whenever he ran, you could not help but be drawn to the drama his races would produce and more often that not a story would emerge from the edge he would bring to an occasion. 

stories,westindians

1960-04-02

Person

6163

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Linford

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