Jim Redmond, father of famous 1992 Olympic moment, dead at 81

Jim Redmond, the man who helped his injured son, Derek Redmond, finish a race at the 1992 Olympics, has died aged 81.

The Olympics confirmed Jim's death on Tuesday, tweeting, "Our hearts go out to Derek Redmond and his family on the passing of his father, Jim."

"Together they brought us one of the most inspiring moments in Olympic history."

The cause of death has not been released.

Jim came to the aid of his son at the Barcelona Games in 1992 after Derek suffered a devastating hamstring injury midway through the 400m semi-final.

Derek, although clearly too injured to run, began to hobble to the finish line -- and, after a few moments of agony, Jim climbed down from his seat in the bleachers, fended off the security guards and ran onto the track to help him finish the race.

Jim held Derek's left hand as the track star walked towards the end - and the two shared an emotional couple, with Derek holding back tears as his father hugged him.

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In a 2012 BBC interview, Derek admitted his hamstrings were strained before the race and said he could barely walk after the injury, but his dad told him they would eventually together.

“He tried to talk me out of it at first,” Derek told the outlet. "He was telling me I had nothing to prove and didn't need to do this, but I told him I was going to finish."

"Then he said we would do it together."