London-born but of Nigerian ancestry, Du’aine Ladejo spent his childhood partly in London and partly in Medina, Ohio, USA where he completed his high school education. He graduated with a degree in communications from the University of Texas and has held the school 400 metre record for over 20 years. Ladejo returned to the UK in 1991 and was chosen to compete for his country at the Barcelona Olympics. He only ran in the heats of the 4×400 relay but that was good enough for him to be awarded a bronze medal from the event. A first selection in the individual 400 metres followed for the 1993 World Championship though he failed the form he had shown in previous years and bowed out at the semi-final stage. His best year of racing was 1994 when, after winning the European Indoor Championship 400 during the winter, he was crowned European champion outdoors as well. Added to this he was a silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games 400 metres and won relay gold at both the Commonwealth and Europeans. Ladejo broke his personal best at the UK trials before the Atlanta Olympics but failed to make an impression at the Games except as part of the British relay team that finished behind the USA to win silver medals. Following Atlanta he began to experiment with other events. He ran sub 50 seconds for the 400 hurdles and competed in the decathlon at the 1998 Commonwealth Games though without the success he had achieved over the flat 400. After leaving the sport he was a regular participant in TV reality shows and has formed his own television company.
Personal Best: 400 – 44.66 (1996).
Great Britain