Jackson Richardson

Jackson Richardson (born 14 June 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 13 August 2004.

Jackson Richardson
Personal information
Born	(1969-06-14) 14 June 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
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–2005	France	417	(775)
Medal record Men’s Handball Representing  France Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona Team Competition World Men's Handball Championship 1995 Iceland Team Competition 2001 France Team Competition 1993 Sweden Team Competition 1997 Japan Team Competition 2003 Portugal Team Competition 2005 Tunisia Team Competition

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. 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. His son, Melvyn, is a player on the France national handball team.[3]

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

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