Jackson Richardson
Personal information
Born (1969-06-14) 14 June 1969 (age 54)
Saint-Pierre, Réunion
Nationality French
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Centre Back
Club information
Current club Retired
Youth career
Years Team
1977–1989
 Saint-Pierre HBC
Senior clubs
Years Team
1989–1991
 Paris-Asnières
1991–1996
 OM Vitrolles
1996–2000
 TV Großwallstadt
2000–2005
 Portland San Antonio
2005–2008
 Chambéry Savoie Handball
2009
 Rhein-Neckar Löwen
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–2005
 France 417 (775)
Medal record
Men's Handball
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona Team Competition
World Men's Handball Championship
Gold medal – first place 1995 Iceland Team Competition
Gold medal – first place 2001 France Team Competition
Silver medal – second place 1993 Sweden Team Competition
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Japan Team Competition
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Portugal Team Competition
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Tunisia Team Competition

Jackson Richardson (born 14 June 1969) is a retired French handball player. As the captain of the French handball team, he was the flag carrier during the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Athens on 13 August 2004.

Biography

Richardson started playing handball when he was 6 years old, and was spotted in 1988, during the final of the Nationale 3 league, by Daniel Costantini, the French team head coach, who was looking for a player from Réunion to play with the Bataillon de Joinville [fr]. Richardson then signed a contract with the club Paris-Asnières in 1989, and started to be well known with his first games for the national team.

Two years later, he was transferred to OM Vitrolles, the team with which he won the French League in 1994 and 1996, the French Cup in 1993 and 1995, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1993. After that he went to Germany to play with the team of TV Großwallstadt, with which he won the European Cities Cup in 2000.

The summit of his club career occurred in Spain, where he played with Portland San Antonio, winning the Champions League against FC Barcelona Handbol in 2001 and the Spanish League the following year.

Richardson came back to France in 2005 to play with Chambéry Savoie Handball.

With the French national team, Jackson has won two world championships in 1995 and 2001 (and four other medals, in 1993, 1997, 2003 and 2005), a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona,[1] and the title of IHF Best player in the world in 1995.[2] He holds by far the record of the most caps for France with more than 400 games. The French handball federation prepared him an outstanding party to celebrate his goodbye to the national team, at the Paris-Bercy tournament, with many sport figures present, although the most important was the presence of his mother, who came from their native Reunion Island to be with her son Jack in such an important day.

Richardson was certainly one of the most talented players of his time. His very instinctive style was the combination of constant hard working and genial improvisation, which made him one of the top players in the world for more than 15 years.

Richardson retired after a great Chambéry Savoie Handball vs US Ivry match. He is married and has two children. His son, Melvyn, is a player on the France men's national handball team.[3]

France national team

Clubs

Honours

With France
With clubs
Personal distinctions

References

  1. ^ a b "All the Medallists since 1896 - Olympic.org". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "All the previous World Handball Players". International Handball Federation. Archived from the original on June 22, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  3. ^ "European Handball Federation - Melvyn Richardson making a name for himself / Article". www.eurohandball.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  4. ^ "EHF Champions League Ultimate Selection announced". www.eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
Awards and achievements Preceded by Talant Duyshebaev IHF World Player of the Year – Men 1995 Succeeded by Talant Duyshebaev Preceded byDavid Douillet French Sportsperson of the Year 2001 Succeeded byCarole Montillet Olympic Games Preceded byDavid Douillet Flagbearer for  France Athens 2004 Succeeded byTony Estanguet
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