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| Nationality | British (English) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1971-02-14)14 February 1971 (age 54) Paddington, London | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Birchfield Harriers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Du'aine Ladejo[1] (born 14 February 1971, inPaddington, London) is a Britishathlete and television personality. He won the400 metres sprint gold medal at the1994 European Championships and was a member of theUnited Kingdom and England 400-metre relay squads at the European Championships, Olympics and Commonwealth Games during the 1990s.[2]
Since retiring from athletics, he has appeared on several television shows includingGladiators, where he was known by the aliasPredator. Ladejo is also the founder of Du'aine's Fit4Schools, an organisation which raises funds to promote health and fitness in schools.[3]
Ladejo started his education at Forest Grange School inWest Sussex, before going on toKing Edward's School, Witley. He completed his high school education in the United States atMedina High School inMedina, Ohio, where he graduated in 1988. He then went on to study radio, television and film at theUniversity of Texas, graduating in 1993.[citation needed]
At the 1994 European Championships, Ladejo won gold medals in both the 400 metres and the 4 × 400 metres relay. He won the individual sprint in 45.09 seconds, beating his compatriot and defending-championRoger Black into second place. Ladejo also won the 400 metres gold medal at theEuropean Indoor Championships in both 1994 and 1996. At the1994 Commonwealth Games, he won a 400 metres silver medal (finishing runner-up toKenya'sCharles Gitonga) and a 4 × 400 metres relay gold medal.[4] At theOlympic Games, Ladejo won two medals in the 4 × 400 metres relay – a silver medal in 1996 and a bronze medal in 1992.[citation needed]
Following the1996 Olympics, Ladejo switched his focus to other athletics events, though he never enjoyed as much success as he did in the 400 metres. He tried his hand at thedecathlon, in which he finished seventh at the1998 Commonwealth Games, and also competed in the400-metre hurdles.[citation needed] During his athletics career, Ladejo trained withBirchfield Harriers.[citation needed]
For a period during his athletics career, Ladejo also presented a TV show,Du'aine's World, onLondon Weekend Television.[3] In the early 2000s, Ladejo competed in theBBC TV sports showSuperstars, winning the competition in 2004 and finishing runner-up toAlain Baxter in 2005.[5] Ladejo also appeared on theITV reality TV showCelebrity Love Island in 2005.
Ladejo is the creator and owner of the television show Australia's Greatest AthleteAustralia's Greatest Athlete. It aired in 2009, 2010 and 2011 on Network television station Channel 9 and Channel 7 in Australia. It was repeated onFox sports channel. He is also the owner of the brand and Trademark Greatest Athlete.[6]
In 2008, Ladejo joined theSky One revival of the TV showGladiators, competing under the Gladiator alias "Predator".[7]
European Athletics Championships champions in men's400 metres | |
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