Darrell Robinson
Encyclopedia
Darrell Robinson is an American
former track and field
athlete who specialized in the 400-meter dash. He set a US high school and world junior record of 44.69 seconds in the 400 m at the age of 18. He was in the world's top-five 400 m runners in 1985 and 1986. He won a bronze medal
at the 1986 Goodwill Games
, and won races at numerous high-profile track meetings.
In 1989 he accused Carl Lewis
, Florence Griffith-Joyner
, and Bob Kersee
(among others) of using or distributing performance-enhancing drugs
. The accusations, which were never substantiated, brought an end to his career at the age of 25.
in Tacoma, Washington
, Robinson ran a United States
high school
record of 44.68 seconds in the 400 m at the age of eighteen. This mark, set at the 1982 National Sports Festival in Indianapolis
, was also a world junior record for the distance. Furthermore, his time was the second fastest 400 m run by any athlete that year, one-hundredth behind Sunder Nix
who had beaten him in the race. He also received the Governor's Trophy for Outstanding Male Athlete for his performance in the 400 m at the Golden West Invitational
that year. Robinson went on to study at the University of Houston
, but he left after the sprint coach who recruited him resigned. After a short stint at the University of Washington
, he went to UCLA in mid-1985, majoring in music
.
in Los Angeles
– a time which ranked him as the fifth fastest 400 m runner that year. He began training with Chuck DeBus and 1986 proved to be a breakthrough for Robinson. He competed at the Mt. SAC Relays
in early May and recorded 20.41 seconds over 200 meters. He joined a strong 400 m line-up at the Pepsi Invitational later that month, which also featured Gabriel Tiacoh
, Antonio McKay
, Michael Franks
and Egbunike, and all were intent on breaking Alberto Juantorena
's time of 44.26 (the fastest run at sea-level). Robinson led over the first 200 m at a world-record-pace of 21.4 seconds. However, Tiacoh managed to overhaul him in the last straight, but Robinson's time of 44.45 seconds to finish as runner-up was a still personal record. The race was the quickest that year, and Tiacoh and Robinson's times ranked them first and second on the season's lists, respectively.
He went on to win at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
in Eugene, Oregon
later that summer, winning the race in a time of 44.47 seconds. Next came the inaugural 1986 Goodwill Games
and he won the 400 m bronze medal
behind compatriots McKay and Clarence Daniel. Robinson took on an intensive schedule on the Europe
an track and field
circuit during the months of August and September that year. He ran a number of sub-45 second times and won races at: the Weltklasse Zürich
meeting (44.69), the ISTAF meet in Berlin
(44.86), the Memorial Van Damme
in Brussels
(44.82), and Athletissima
in Lausanne
(44.96). His winning streak was brought to a halt at the London Grand Prix
, where he and Andre Phillips
both ran 45.00 seconds, but Phillips was awarded the victory. He closed his season with another 400 m win in 45.15 seconds at a meeting in Tokyo
in mid-September.
, Greece, behind Roberto Hernández of Cuba
.
In late 1989, Robinson gave an interview with Stern
in West Germany
accusing a number of figures in American track and field of using and distributing performance-enhancing drugs
. In October, The Athletics Congress (later USA Track & Field) had allowed the voluntary resignation of Robinson's former coach Chuck DeBus for giving banned substances to his athletes. Robinson said in Stern that, while staying at his house in 1982, he had seen Carl Lewis
inject himself with a white fluid – what he believed to be testosterone
. Furthermore, he said he had seen Tom Tellez (Lewis' coach) distribute blue pills to his athletes and claimed that these were banned steroids. Robinson had begun training with Bob Kersee
in 1987 and he claimed that the coach had advised him on steroid use and given him two types of tablets; Anavar and Dianabol. Robinson also claimed that he had personally sold a 10-cubic centimetre vial of human growth hormone to Florence Griffith-Joyner
in March 1988, just months before she ran two world records and won an Olympic gold medal.
Lewis levelled a libel suit worth US$182 million against the German magazine in December 1989. Griffith-Joyner, Tellez and Bob Kersee denied the claims, but Florence Griffith-Joyner did not issue legal proceedings. The accused questioned Robinson's motives in that he received $50,000 for the interview with Stern, as well as $10,000 for appearing on Today on NBC
to discuss the matter. Robinson was also close friends with Charlie Francis
– the former coach of Ben Johnson
.
The accusations brought about the end of Robinson's career at the age of 25 as he was largely blacklist
ed by promoters on the European track circuit. In spite of this, he stood by the statements he had made in his interviews. His personal life grew increasingly difficult after his retirement. One of his children was beaten to death by its mother and when his daughter, by another woman, moved to Canada
he was blocked from seeing her. An attempt to take his daughter back to the United States resulted in charges for assault and abduction
, and he served five months in jail. He began seeing a psychiatrist
in Tacoma, but twice attempted suicide in 1996. He married former US skiier Lisl Hager in the late 1990s and retreated from public life, refusing to take calls from the press and asking to be left alone.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who specialized in the 400-meter dash. He set a US high school and world junior record of 44.69 seconds in the 400 m at the age of 18. He was in the world's top-five 400 m runners in 1985 and 1986. He won a bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
at the 1986 Goodwill Games
1986 Goodwill Games
The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union...
, and won races at numerous high-profile track meetings.
In 1989 he accused Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
, Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner , also known as Flo-Jo was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the "fastest woman of all time" based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988 and never seriously challenged...
, and Bob Kersee
Bob Kersee
Bob Kersee is a famous and successful American track coach, husband, and coach of, among others, Jackie Joyner-Kersee....
(among others) of using or distributing performance-enhancing drugs
Performance-enhancing drugs
Performance-enhancing drugs are substances used by athletes to improve their performances in the sports in which they engage.- Types of performance-enhancing drugs :...
. The accusations, which were never substantiated, brought an end to his career at the age of 25.
Early life
While attending Woodrow Wilson High SchoolWoodrow Wilson High School (Tacoma, Washington)
Woodrow Wilson High School is located in Tacoma, Washington, on Orchard Street and 11th Street. Wilson High is one of five traditional high schools in the Tacoma Public School System and is located within distance of Downing Elementary School, also in Tacoma...
in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, Robinson ran a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
record of 44.68 seconds in the 400 m at the age of eighteen. This mark, set at the 1982 National Sports Festival in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, was also a world junior record for the distance. Furthermore, his time was the second fastest 400 m run by any athlete that year, one-hundredth behind Sunder Nix
Sunder Nix
Sunder L. Nix was a 1984 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the men's 4x400 meter relay for the United States.-References:*...
who had beaten him in the race. He also received the Governor's Trophy for Outstanding Male Athlete for his performance in the 400 m at the Golden West Invitational
Golden West Invitational
The Golden West Invitational high school track & field all-star meet brings together top high school athletes from throughout the country and provides them with the very highest levels of competition...
that year. Robinson went on to study at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, but he left after the sprint coach who recruited him resigned. After a short stint at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, he went to UCLA in mid-1985, majoring in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
Breakthrough season
In 1985, Robinson ran a season's best of 44.71 seconds to finish behind Innocent EgbunikeInnocent Egbunike
Innocent Egbunike is a former sprinter from Nigeria who won an Olympic bronze medal in 4 x 400 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
– a time which ranked him as the fifth fastest 400 m runner that year. He began training with Chuck DeBus and 1986 proved to be a breakthrough for Robinson. He competed at the Mt. SAC Relays
Mt. SAC Relays
The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The relays, held in April each year, were started by then track coach Hilmer Lodge in 1959. The meet attracts all levels and disciplines of...
in early May and recorded 20.41 seconds over 200 meters. He joined a strong 400 m line-up at the Pepsi Invitational later that month, which also featured Gabriel Tiacoh
Gabriel Tiacoh
Gabriel Tiacoh was a sprinter from Côte d'Ivoire who specialised in the 400 metres. He is best known for winning his nation's sole Olympic medal thus far, in the 400 meters in 1984....
, Antonio McKay
Antonio McKay
Antonio McKay Sr. is a former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters.-Career:...
, Michael Franks
Michael Franks (athlete)
Michael "Mike" Franks is a former American track and field athlete who competed in the 400-meter dash.He was the silver medalist in the event at the inaugural 1983 World Championships in Athletics. He was given the Harrison Dillard Award in 1984 for his achievements...
and Egbunike, and all were intent on breaking Alberto Juantorena
Alberto Juantorena
Alberto Juantorena Danger is a Cuban former track athlete. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, he became the first and so far only athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m Olympic titles....
's time of 44.26 (the fastest run at sea-level). Robinson led over the first 200 m at a world-record-pace of 21.4 seconds. However, Tiacoh managed to overhaul him in the last straight, but Robinson's time of 44.45 seconds to finish as runner-up was a still personal record. The race was the quickest that year, and Tiacoh and Robinson's times ranked them first and second on the season's lists, respectively.
He went on to win at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...
in Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
later that summer, winning the race in a time of 44.47 seconds. Next came the inaugural 1986 Goodwill Games
1986 Goodwill Games
The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union...
and he won the 400 m bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
behind compatriots McKay and Clarence Daniel. Robinson took on an intensive schedule on the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
circuit during the months of August and September that year. He ran a number of sub-45 second times and won races at: the Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich is an annual track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League. One of the first large-scale international athletics events , it is sometimes referred to as the one day...
meeting (44.69), the ISTAF meet in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(44.86), the Memorial Van Damme
Memorial Van Damme
Memorial van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium that takes place in late August or early September...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(44.82), and Athletissima
Athletissima
Athletissima is an annual athletics meeting at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League.The first edition was held on 8 July 1977....
in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
(44.96). His winning streak was brought to a halt at the London Grand Prix
London Grand Prix
The Aviva London Grand Prix is an annual athletics event at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, England.Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League...
, where he and Andre Phillips
Andre Phillips
André Lamar Phillips is a retired American Track and Field athlete who is best known for winning the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games....
both ran 45.00 seconds, but Phillips was awarded the victory. He closed his season with another 400 m win in 45.15 seconds at a meeting in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in mid-September.
Accusations of drug use
Robinson did not compete in 1987, but he returned in mid-1988 and recorded a time of 44.99 seconds in Indianapolis and ran 45.11 seconds for fourth place in AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece, behind Roberto Hernández of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
In late 1989, Robinson gave an interview with Stern
Stern (magazine)
Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
accusing a number of figures in American track and field of using and distributing performance-enhancing drugs
Performance-enhancing drugs
Performance-enhancing drugs are substances used by athletes to improve their performances in the sports in which they engage.- Types of performance-enhancing drugs :...
. In October, The Athletics Congress (later USA Track & Field) had allowed the voluntary resignation of Robinson's former coach Chuck DeBus for giving banned substances to his athletes. Robinson said in Stern that, while staying at his house in 1982, he had seen Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
inject himself with a white fluid – what he believed to be testosterone
Testosterone
Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...
. Furthermore, he said he had seen Tom Tellez (Lewis' coach) distribute blue pills to his athletes and claimed that these were banned steroids. Robinson had begun training with Bob Kersee
Bob Kersee
Bob Kersee is a famous and successful American track coach, husband, and coach of, among others, Jackie Joyner-Kersee....
in 1987 and he claimed that the coach had advised him on steroid use and given him two types of tablets; Anavar and Dianabol. Robinson also claimed that he had personally sold a 10-cubic centimetre vial of human growth hormone to Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner
Florence Griffith-Joyner , also known as Flo-Jo was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the "fastest woman of all time" based on the fact that she still holds the world record for both the 100 metres and 200 metres, both set in 1988 and never seriously challenged...
in March 1988, just months before she ran two world records and won an Olympic gold medal.
Lewis levelled a libel suit worth US$182 million against the German magazine in December 1989. Griffith-Joyner, Tellez and Bob Kersee denied the claims, but Florence Griffith-Joyner did not issue legal proceedings. The accused questioned Robinson's motives in that he received $50,000 for the interview with Stern, as well as $10,000 for appearing on Today on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
to discuss the matter. Robinson was also close friends with Charlie Francis
Charlie Francis
Charles Merrick "Charlie" Francis was a sprint coach most noteworthy for being the trainer of sprinter Ben Johnson, the first competitor to be stripped of an Olympic gold medal for using banned drugs, and sprinters Angella Issajenko, Mark McKoy, and Desai Williams...
– the former coach of Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson (athlete)
Benjamin Sinclair "Ben" Johnson, CM , is a former sprinter from Canada, who enjoyed a high-profile career during most of the 1980s, winning two Olympic bronze medals and an Olympic gold, which was subsequently rescinded...
.
The accusations brought about the end of Robinson's career at the age of 25 as he was largely blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
ed by promoters on the European track circuit. In spite of this, he stood by the statements he had made in his interviews. His personal life grew increasingly difficult after his retirement. One of his children was beaten to death by its mother and when his daughter, by another woman, moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
he was blocked from seeing her. An attempt to take his daughter back to the United States resulted in charges for assault and abduction
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, and he served five months in jail. He began seeing a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
in Tacoma, but twice attempted suicide in 1996. He married former US skiier Lisl Hager in the late 1990s and retreated from public life, refusing to take calls from the press and asking to be left alone.