Born:
April 02, 1960
in
Saint Andrew, Jamaica
Best Known For:
Being a 100m sprinter.
Early-life:
Linford Cicero Christie was born in Saint Andrew, Jamaica, on April 2, 1960. He was initially brought up by his grandmother in Jamaica before, at the age of seven, he followed his parents, who had emigrated to London five years earlier. Linford was not serious about athletics until he was 19. In 1986, he won the 100m at the European Championships and finished second in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
Career:
At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Christie was awarded the 100m silver medal behind Carl Lewis after the original winner Ben Johnson had been disqualified following a positive drug test. In 1992, Christie went one better, winning the 100m at the Olympics in Barcelona at the age of 32. In 1993, he became the first man in history to hold Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles in the 100m. In the same year, he was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He was disqualified in the 1996 Olympic 100m final in Atlanta for two false starts. After competing at an indoor event in Dortmund in 1999, a drug test found the banned substance nandrolone. A disciplinary hearing by the British Athletic Federation found Christie not guilty, but the IAAF confirmed a two-year suspension. During an illustrious track career, Christie won 24 medals. Away from athletics, Christie hosted the BBC children's show Record Breakers from 1998 to 2000 and was a participant in the 2010 series of ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! In early 2016, he was a contestant on Channel 4's sporting reality show The Jump.
Quote:
"It does not follow that all athletes who are big take drugs. Only by testing all athletes will the sport be kept clean of drugs."
Trivia:
Christie was appointed an MBE in 1990 and an OBE in 1998.