Chafford Hundred Kids got a great trick when former athlete John Regis popped in as part of the Superschools programme .
He mainly competed in the 200 metres and was the first British athlete to run under 20 seconds for the distance. Regis still holds the UK record in this event. He also won two Olympic medals in relay races. The British 4 x 400 m team from 1990, which Regis was a member of, set the European Championship record for the event. Since his retirement in 1999 he has worked in the media and sports management.
Regis specialised in both the 200 and 400 metres events, at a time before Michael Johnson made the double-event more popular. In particular, Regis formed an integral part of Great Britain’s 4 x 400 m relay team, running the third leg in the team’s victory at the world championships in Tokyo in 1991.
John Regis was one of the foremost characters in the golden era of British athletics in the late 80s and early 90s, alongside Linford Christie, Sally Gunnell, Colin Jackson and Tony Jarrett, amongst others.
Regis was awarded an MBE for services to athletics. In 1989, Regis opened an all-weather running track at Wellesley Recreation Ground (known as The Well), Great Yarmouth. In 1995 Respect a 30 minute documentary was made about John Regis, produced and directed by Pogus Caesar and broadcast on Carlton TV in London.
