Athlete – Track and Field
First giving honor to God, who is the head of his life, Derek J. Robinson, Sr., is the son of the late Frank and Margaret Robinson. He is also the brother of Frank, Jr. (deceased), Charles (deceased), Sheila (deceased), Terry (Linda) Robinson, sister Erica (David) Robinson Weathers; and godbrother Bolaji (Tonya) Ogbulu. Married to his beautiful wife, Mrs. Monica Matthews-Robinson, for two years, the couple has eleven children, and fourteen grandchildren.
Derek attended Lafayette Senior High School, where his first competition was the prestigious indoor Mason-Dixon Games in Louisville, KY. His 4x400m relay team placed fourth overall. Also, in the outdoor KHSAA State Track and Field Championship meet, the foursome won the 4x200m and 4x400m relays. In 1984, Derek won the state title in the 100m and 200m, placed second in the 400m and second in the 4x400m relay. That summer, he qualified for the The Athletic Congress (TAC), now known as the United States Track and Field (USATF) Nationals in the 100m, finishing seventh in the finals with a time of 10.85 secs. In the Mason-Dixon Games, his senior year time at 60m was 7.01 secs.
Derek credits much of his success at Lafayette to two wonderful coaches: Tom Fee and Harold Barnett. Ken Northington gave him great workouts as well. The Generals opened at the Bryan Station Invitational, where he clocked at 10.36 in the 100m. At the Tennessee Volunteer Track Classic, Derek placed first in the 100m and 200m, and he anchored the 4x100m relay from seventh place to closing third place. He was voted most outstanding male performer and received the MVP Award from the Spencer Thrift Foundation. Overall, Derek finished his year as a repeat champion in the 100m and 200m. At that time, the record was 10.65 secs., just under Derek’s time of 10.68 secs. Derek then anchored his 4x100m relay team to a new state record of 42.06 secs. After the state meet, he was invited to run in the Old Bud Light All-Star Track Meet at St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley in St. Louis, MO, placing second in the 100m in a photo finish of 10.31 secs. against Anthony Stafford, who ran 10.30 secs.
After a successful high school career, Derek attended Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), where he placed third in the indoor 60m and 300m. He ran as a collegian in the Mason-Dixon Games held at the old Freedom Hall. In the prelims, Derek beat Walter McCoy, an Olympian from 1984 in the 4x400m relay. Fellow 2025 LAASHOF inductee Allen Franklin of Henry Clay finished first in the 60m with a time of 6.84 secs., and Derek was a close second at 6.88 secs. Then, in a blistering finals heat, Allen took the win at 6.82 secs., his teammate Terry McDaniel finished second at 6.66 secs., and Derek was a close third at 6.86 secs.
During spring break, Derek ran at the University of South Alabama, placing third in the 100m, (10.18 secs.) and second in the 200m (21.10 secs.). These performances led to Derek receiving an invitation to run in the Dogwood Relays Invitational 100m against Sam Graddy of Tennessee, who later placed second in the 1984 Olympic 100m. Derek placed fifth at Dogwood (10.44 secs.), and his 4x100m relay team placed second behind Tennessee. He qualified for Nationals in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay; however, his 4x100m team was disqualified in the prelims. SEMO placed second as a team overall on points, becoming the National Runner-Up in 1986!!
After track, Derek found himself coaching track and field. From 1997–2001, he was a high school track and field coach at his alma mater, Lafayette High School, mentoring two great athletes, Tim Walker and World Champion and Olympian Tyson Gay (LAASHOF Class of 2022). After a brief break, Derek returned to coaching with a local AAU team, The Lexington Blazin’ Cats, until the summer of 2024. During his tenure with the Lexington Blazin’ Cats, he coached 10 gold, 8 silver, two bronze, two fifth place, and one sixth place medalist, not to mention a two-time national champion, Addie Moore, from Woodford County High School.
