1. Derrick Adkins was an Olympic gold medalist in that event at the 1996 Summer Olympics and World Champion at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics.
20 Facts About Derrick Adkins
1. 2.
Derrick Adkins was the fastest man in the world in the 1994 and 1996 seasons, and holds a personal record of 47.54 seconds.
3.
Derrick Adkins was a gold medalist at the 1994 Goodwill Games and the 1996 IAAF Grand Prix Final.
4.
Derrick Adkins represented the United States four times at the World Championships in Athletics, reaching the final in 1991 and 1993.
5.
Derrick Adkins attended Georgia Tech where he earned a bachelor's degree at the George W Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering in June 1993.
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Derrick Adkins reached his first senior global final at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics, placed sixth overall.
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Derrick Adkins returned two years later at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics, ending in seventh on that occasion.
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Derrick Adkins was runner-up to Samuel Matete at the 1994 IAAF Grand Prix Final that year.
9.
At the 1995 World Championships in Goteborg, Sweden, Derrick Adkins won the gold narrowly ahead of his career long rival Samuel Matete from Zambia in a time of 47.98 seconds.
10.
At the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Derrick Adkins won the gold medal in a time of 47.54, beating Matete by 0.24 seconds.
11.
Derrick Adkins is one of the few hurdlers who have won back-to-back gold medals in the World Championships and Olympic Games.
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Derrick Adkins was a two-time USA National Champion in 1994 and 1995.
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Derrick Adkins was a two-time winner of the Weltklasse Zurich meet, having won the 1995 meet in a time of 47.65 seconds.
14.
Derrick Adkins was a two-time winner of the Millrose Games in the 500 meters having run 1:01.71 at Madison Square Garden.
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Derrick Adkins has set stadium records and meet records at the Penn Relays, the Lucerne Grand Prix, the Linz Grand Prix, and the Goodwill Games in St Petersburg, Russia.
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Derrick Adkins served as director of The Armory Track and Field Center between 2006 and 2011.
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Derrick Adkins was influential in the decision to bring the Millrose Games from Madison Square Garden to The Armory where it continues to be staged annually.
18.
Derrick Adkins was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
19.
Derrick Adkins admits to having suffered a long-term battle with clinical depression and alcohol addiction.
20.
In 2013, Derrick Adkins was arrested for obstruction of governmental administration in Long Beach, New York.