Jul 24 2012 By Paul Warburton
linford christie Image 1
AS the countdown to London 2012 reaches its climax, we take a look at West London's Olympic legacy - whether through Olympians from the area, or those who have had a lasting impact on it. Today, with four days left, Paul Warburton looks back at Linford Christie's emotional 100m gold in Barcelona.
IT MAY be 20 years old ? but here is a world exclusive. The man who took Linford Christie to Olympic gold has finally revealed he didn?t actually see the race.
And the second the superhero from Shepherd?s Bush crossed the finish line, Ron Roddan was more worried about his damaged ankle than celebrating the magnificent win.
The Thames Valley Harriers sprint coach, then and now, had stumbled getting into the bus on the way to the Barcelona stadium and twisted his ankle.
So painful was it, that by the time he got to the warm-up area he needed physio and was unable to take another step towards his seat in the specially designated coaches area.
?To tell the truth,? said Roddan, ?I got a better view on the big TV that was there.?
Seconds after Christie crossed the line at the age of 32 to become the oldest ever Olympic 100m champion, former Wormwood Scrubs prison warder Sanusi Turay picked up Roddan and was jumping around with him in his arms.
?Sanusi was one of mine,? said Roddan, ?and he had run for Sierra Leone. He was a big guy, and I was bouncing about trying to hang on to my ankle.?
If you watch the final on You Tube or similar, what you see as the eight go to their blocks is the favourite Leroy Burrell from the USA prowling around psyching himself up.
When the camera pans to Christie, he is motionless, staring back down the lane like Clint Eastwood in a western.
One of the online versions is from New Zealand TV, and Olympic 1500m gold medallist John Walker predicts Burrell to win, Dennis Mitchell also from the States, second, and Christie third.
?Christie?s the sentimental favourite,? says Walker, ?but he?s maybe just a bit too old.?
A great start that becomes an easy flow sees Christie in front by 60m and if not exactly cruising ? a clear winner by the line.
Roddan admitted they had worked on Christie?s focus.
?A lot of people commented on his staring eyes,? said the coach. ?But maybe the nervous energy used up by others like Burrell and Mitchell had a detrimental effect.?
Burrell false-started which put him on the back foot, and Mitchell had put his hand up to delay the second attempt, while cool-as-you-like Christie had everything to gain and nothing to lose. However, there were detractors who claimed had the great Carl Lewis been there ? it would have been a different story.
The twice-Olympic champion missed the cut at the USA trials apparently due to a bad cold.
?No,? says Roddan. ?Burrell had beaten Lewis a number of times that year, and despite the stories, he just wasn?t good enough to be in Barcelona.
?Linford wasn?t bothered about Lewis, he had had his time.
?What really helped was Linford?s anger. He was ticked off that Mitchell got away with a false start at the World Championships the year before when Linford finished fourth, and he was determined to make up for it.
?We had also been to Australia for the two previous winters, and the warm weather made an immense difference to his training.?
Christie, a born rebel to the establishment, continues to make unwitting headlines to this day. In January, he lost an appeal against a 15-month driving ban after being involved in a serious car crash in 2010.
His son, Liam Linford Oliver-Christie was arrested after police raided his home in Olympia in February and was accused of supplying crack cocaine and heroin.
But the man who has the stadium named after him where Roddan coaches the next generation, is still the British record holder after 19 years, and the only Brit to hold all four major 100m titles: Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth.
Roddan said: ?Linford was just so damn positive he could win in Barcelona ? that was the real difference.?
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