Linford Christie

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

Born in Saint Andrew, Jamaica , Christie followed his parents, who had emigrated five years before, to Britain at the age of seven. He did not take up athletics until he was 19.

In 1986, he was the surprise winner of the 100m at the European Championships and finished second at the Commonwealth Games.

At the 1988 Summer Olympics, Christie won silver behind Carl Lewis, though only after Ben Johnson, who set a new World Record in 9.79 seconds, had been disqualified for a doping offence. In fact, Christie's urine also contained metabolites of a banned substance, however he was not stripped of his silver medal.

In 1992, he succeeded Allan Wells as a British Olympic 100 m champion, winning the title ahead of 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. He also became the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Despite his athletic achievements, Linford Christie has been unable to escape a certain amount of notoriety surrounding the size of his "lunchbox".

After 1994, he was less successful. Christie was disqualified in the 1996 Olympic final after two false starts, and in 1999, he was found guilty of using the banned drug nandrolone. Although the (now defunct) British athletic federation found him to be not guilty, the IAAF overruled and confirmed the suspension. Christie, who had for some time been focusing on coaching, subsequently retired.