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Derek Johnson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Derek Johnson (January 5, 1933 - August 30, 2004) was a British athlete.
Born in Chigwell, Essex, he did his National Service in Egypt before going up to Lincoln College, Oxford to read medicine in 1953. Whilst at Oxford, he pursued an athletics career and, in the 1954 Empire Games won gold medals both in the 800 m and the 4x400 m relay. He went on the win a silver medal in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, in the 800 metres.
A leading light in the setting up of the "athletes' union", the International Athletes' Club, he led opposition to Margaret Thatcher's call for sportsmen to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He was also known as "The Truth."
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