400 metres, Men

In August 1990, world record holder Harry “Butch” Reynolds tested positive for the steroid nandrolone at a meet in Monte Carlo. He was given a two-year suspension. He appealed this and in December 1991 The Athletics Congress (TAC) supported his appeal, asking that his suspension be lifted. This was denied by an IAAF panel and Reynolds appeared to be out of the Olympics. But then a federal judge ruled that Reynolds should be allowed to compete so he could qualify for the Olympic Trials, and should be allowed to compete in the Trials, if he qualified. The reasoning was that Reynolds’ suspension would be lifted just before the Barcelona Olympics but he first had to qualify. Then the IAAF ruled that any athletes running against Reynolds would be subject to suspension from competition. Legal shenanigans went back and forth and eventually the Olympic Trials 400 heats were postponed a few days while it was sorted out. Finally, Reynolds got to run in the Trials in New Orleans, but in a bit of an anti-climax, did not make the Olympic team.

In his absence the favorites were still the American threesome of defending gold medalist Steve Lewis, the 1988 bronze medalist Danny Joe Everett, and Quincy Watts. Everett went out in the semi-finals in Seoul, with a leg injury. Another athlete to be injured in the semis was Britain’s Derek Redmond, who hobbled and fell to the track. Suddenly a man appeared from the stands and helped him to his feet – it was his father. With his arm around his father, he limped the remaining 200 metres to the finish line, supported by his Dad, who told him, “We started your career together, so let’s finish this race together.” It was one of the more emotional moments in Olympic history and is still replayed often.

After all that drama, the final of the 400 metres seemed almost an afterthought. Watts and Lewis started fastest together and Watts pulled away by 200 metres. He powered thru the final curve and held on for a huge victory margin of almost seven metres over Lewis. Kenya’s Samson Kitur, 1990 Commonwealth Games silver medalist, finished quickly to get third.