Linford Christie

Linford Christie (born April 2, 1960 in Jamaica) is a British athlete.

At age seven, Christie followed his parents, who had emigrated from Jamaica to Britain 5 year before. Only at age 19, Christie took up athletics.

In 1986, he surprised by winning the 100 m at the European Championships and finishing second at the Commonwealth Games.

At the 1988 Olympic Games, Christie won silver behind Carl Lewis, though only after Ben Johnson, who set a new World Record in 9,79, had been disqualified for use of doping. In fact, Christie's urine also contained forbidden substances, but he was not considered to have taken doping.

In 1992, he succeeded Allan Wells as a British Olympic 100 m champion, winning the title before Namibian Frankie Fredericks. In 1993, he became the first man in history to hold the Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles in the 100 m as he was victorious at the Stuttgart World Championships.

After 1994, his successes became less. Christie was disqualified in the 1996 Olympic final after two false starts, and in 1999, he was found guilty of using nandrolon. Although the British federation found him to be not guilty, the IAAF confirmed the suspension. Christie retired subsequently.