Jackson Richardson

Jackson Richardson
Personal information
Born	14 July 1969; 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
Men’s Handball
Representing France
Olympic Games
World Men's Handball Championship

Jackson Richardson (born June 14, 1969 in Saint-Pierre, Réunion) 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 August 13, 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 headcoach, who was looking for a player from Réunion to play with the Bataillon de Joinville. 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 lots of 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.

France national team

First cap: January 10, 1990 against Algeria
Goals: 775 (5 penalties)
Number of caps: 417
Last international game: February 5, 2005 against Croatia

Clubs

Saint-Pierre de la Réunion
1989-91 : Paris-Asnières
1991-96 : OM Vitrolles
1996-00 : TV Großwallstadt
2000-05 : Portland San Antonio
2005-08 : Chambéry Savoie Handball
2009-09 : Rhein-Neckar Löwen

Honours

2 World Championships (1995, 2001)
1 EHF Champions League (2001 with Portland San Antonio)
2 European Cup Winners' Cups (1993 with OM Vitrolles, 2004 with Portland San Antonio)
1 Europe Supercup (2000 with Portland San Antonio)
1 European Cities Cup (2000 with TV Großwallstadt)
2 French Leagues (1994, 1996)
2 Spanish Leagues (2003, 2005)
2 Coupes de France (1993, 1995)
1 Copa del Rey (2001)
2 Spanish Supercups (2001, 2002)
Bronze medal in the Olympic Games (1992)^[1]
Silver medal in the World Championship (1993)
Bronze medal in the World Championship (1997, 2003, 2005)
Champions League final (2003)
IHF World Player of the Year (1995)^[2]
MVP of the World Championship (1990)
Best playmaker of the World Championship (1995)
Best playmaker of the European Championship (2000)
Best foreign player of the Spanish League (2001, 2002)
Best playmaker of the Spanish League (2003, 2004, 2005)

References

1 2 "All the Medallists since 1896 - Olympic.org". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
1 2 "All the previous World Handball Players". International Handball Federation. Archived from the original on June 22, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2010.

Awards and achievements
Preceded by David Douillet	French Sportsperson of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Carole Montillet
Olympic Games
Preceded by David Douillet	Flagbearer for France Athens 2004	Succeeded by Tony Estanguet

Awards
Preceded by Talant Duyshebaev	IHF World Player of the Year – Men 1995	Succeeded by Talant Duyshebaev

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[Spain92-1] 1 2 "All the Medallists since 1896 - Olympic.org". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved January 31, 2010.

[BestPlayer-2] 1 2 "All the previous World Handball Players". International Handball Federation. Archived from the original on June 22, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2010.