Renaldo Nehemiah
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Renaldo "Skeets" Nehemiah (born March 24, 1959 in Newark, New Jersey), is an American athlete who dominated the 110 m hurdle event from 1978 until 1981. He was the world record holder and the first man to run the high hurdles in under 13 seconds. He was ranked number one in the world for four straight years.
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[edit] Track career
Nehemiah was the national junior champion in 1977, the same year he graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Representing the University of Maryland, College Park, he won three NCAA titles (two indoor). In 1979 he won the Pan American Games title and the World Cup, although, he is also remembered for his great relay legs for the Terrapins at the Penn Relays. The relays were just two weeks after he first broke the world record for the 110 meter hurdles. During the relays he recorded an unofficial split of 19.4 seconds in the 4-by-200 meter relay and a 44.3 second split in the 4x400 meter relay. Nehemiah described his 400-meter leg as follows:
- So, I just ran harder and harder as the noise [of the crowd] got louder. And before I knew it, I could see (Villanova’s) Tim Dale and the finish line about 20 meters in front of me. As I was really starting to be overwhelmed by the pain, I dug one more time with all I had, and surged past a fading Dale and believe I won by a couple of meters. [Afterwards]..I told myself that I would not ever feel that type of pain again in my life. And I never ran another 400 meter again.
Due to the U.S. boycott, he was unable to compete in the 1980 Olympic games, despite being the prohibitive favorite. In 1981 he set his outdoor world record of 12.93 for the 110m hurdles. This was the third time he had lowered the outdoor world record.
| No. | Event | Time | Date | Year | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 50 m H | 6.36 | 3rd Feb | 1979 | Edmonton |
| 2. | 55 m H | 6.89 | 20th Jan | 1979 | New York |
| 3. | 110 m H | 13.16 | 14th Apr | 1979 | San Jose |
| 4. | 110 m H | 13.00 | 6th May | 1979 | Westwood |
| 5. | 50 yd H | 5.98 | 1981 | ||
| 6. | 110 m H | 12.93 | 19th Aug | 1981 | Zurich |
| 7. | 50 yd H | 5.92 | 1982 | ||
| 8. | 60 yd H | 6.82 | 30th Jan | 1982 | Dallas |
Pat Connolly, who also coached sprinter Evelyn Ashford, was instrumental in reviving Nehemiah's track career after his short foray in football. Connolly is quoted as saying:
- If he had concentrated on Athletics he would have matched Harrison Dillard's achievement (double gold in the 100m and 110m hurdles). He clearly could have ran under 9.9 in the 100.
She also believed he may have been better suited for the 400 m hurdle event. She is on record as saying:
- Based on a 300m I timed in practice, I believe he would still hold the world record in that event (400m hurdles), had he given it a serious try.
[edit] Football career
In 1982 Nehemiah started playing football for the San Francisco 49ers. During his three years as a wide receiver he caught 43 passes for 754 yards, a 17.5 average, and 4 touchdowns. Although he was part of the Super Bowl winning team in the 1984 season, he did not play a major role. His football career was not as successful as his track career and he returned to track in 1986. He managed to achieve world rankings four more times before retiring from Athletics after the 1991 season.
[edit] Career Highlights for 110 m hurdles
| Year | Rank | Mark | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 1 | 13.23 | 2)NCAA, 1)AAU, 1)Weltklasse |
| 1979 | 1 | 13.00 WR | 1)NCAA, 1)AAU, 1)Pan Am, 2)Weltklasse, 1)W Cup |
| 1980 | 1 | 13.21 | 1)TAC, 1)Oly Trials, 1)Coke, 1)Weltklasse |
| 1981 | 1 | 12.93 WR | 1)Weltklasse |
| 1982 | indoor season only | ||
| 1982-85 | football sabbatical | ||
| 1986 | 13.48 | ||
| 1987 | 13.71 | ||
| 1988 | 10 | 13.43 | (dnf)Oly Trials, 6)Weltklasse |
| 1989 | 4 | 13.20 | |
| 1990 | 6 | 13.22 | |
| 1991 | 4 | 13.19 | 3)TAC, 1)Weltklasse, 3)GP Final |
[edit] The Superstars
Nehemiah was the only four-time winner of The Superstars, a made-for-television decathlon-style competition broadcast by ABC Sports. He won the event in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1986.
[edit] Management
He is currently involved with Octagon Sports Marketing, a sports management and marketing agency, as the Director of Track & Field. He has represented many of the world's best hurdlers and sprinters including Allen Johnson, Mark Crear and Justin Gatlin.
[edit] External links
Categories: 1959 births | Living people | American hurdlers | American football wide receivers | Maryland Terrapins football players | People from Newark, New Jersey | Phi Beta Sigma brothers | San Francisco 49ers players | Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey | Superstars competitors | University of Maryland, College Park alumni
