3one
Setting the Stage
In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Derek Redmond was Great
Britain’s best hope for a medal in the four- hundred- meter
race. At the semifinals, everyone expected him to qualify for
the finals. He lined up for his event. The gun went off; Derek
charged around the track, fending off the other runners.
But at the two- hundred- meter mark, Derek collapsed in a
heap on the ground, writhing in pain. As the other contestants
passed him by, leaving his dreams in their dust, Derek wrestled
with the realization and pain of a ripped hamstring.
Everything he had worked for his entire life had just ended.
In an instant, his failure was complete.
Derek wouldn’t win the race. He wouldn’t win an Olympic
medal. He would need to be carried off on a stretcher. He
didn’t meet his own expectations or anyone else’s. He could
have labeled himself a failure in that moment, but he wrote a
better story. He refused to quit.
As the other runners approached the finish, Derek struggled
to his feet, gripped his leg, and with tears running down his