Derrick Adkins | Biography

Derrick Adkins rose onto the worldwide athletics scene in 1991 when he finished third at the US National Competition and qualified for the 1991 World Championships, where he positioned sixth. Adkins won the World Student Games in 1991 and 1993 and completed seventh at the 1993 World Championships. Adkins made a rapid enhancement in 1994, when he won his first US National Tournament. He repeated this win in 1995 and was preferred at the 1995 World Championships. At Göteborg Adkins won his heat easily and, in the final, won the gold directly ahead of his career-long rival from Zambia. Prior to the Atlanta Olympic games Matete had beaten Adkins four times out of five. In 1997 Atkins was second at the US National Championships, but missed the final for the first time at a World Championships by concluding only fifth in the semi-final. Adkins continued to compete in subsequent years, but it was obvious that his glory days were over and he retired from sporting in 2000. After his retirement Adkins was assistant track & field coach at Columbia Higher education between 2004-06 and later became director of the New Balance Monitor and Field Armory Center in New York City. Read More...