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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 July 1944 (1944-07-18) (age 81) Cirencester,Gloucestershire, England |
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | 400 m, 110 m hurdles, 400 m hurdles, decathlon |
| Club | Hillingdon AC Boston University Terriers, USA |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest(s) | 400 m – 46.6y (1968) 110 mH – 13.4 (1970) 400 mH – 48.12 (1968) Decathlon – 6893* (1969) |
David Peter Hemery (born 18 July 1944) is an English formertrack and field athlete. He was the winner of the400 metres hurdles at the1968 Summer Olympics inMexico City in a new world record.[1][2]
Hemery was born inCirencester,Gloucestershire, but his father's accounting work took the family to theUnited States, where he attended school and graduated fromBoston University. At one point the family had returned toBritain for a time, and Hemery moved back and forth across the Atlantic during his training.[1][3]
Hemery's first international title came at the1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica,[4] where he won the 120yd hurdles in 14.1 seconds, a title he retained four years later at the1970 Commonwealth Games (by then it was the 110 m hurdles which he won in 13.8 seconds).[5]
At theMexico City Olympics in 1968, Hemery won the 400 m hurdles in 48.12 seconds,[6] a new world record. His margin of victory was the largest since1924, beating second-placedGerhard Hennige fromWest Germany by almost a second. After Hemery crossed the lineBBC commentatorDavid Coleman famously exclaimed "Who cares who's third – it doesn't matter!" Hemery's British teammateJohn Sherwood turned out to be the bronze medal winner in a close finish that had to be settled byphoto finish. Hemery's performance helped him win the 1968BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
In 1969, Hemery won a silver at theEuropean Championships in the 110 m hurdles, but missed the next European Championships in 1971 due to injury. At the1972 Summer Olympics inMunich, Hemery defended his title and finished third, behindJohn Akii-Bua fromUganda andRalph Mann from the United States. He was also a member of the silver medal-winning British 4 × 400 mrelay team, one of whose members wasDavid Jenkins.
Hemery was twice theBritish 120y/100m metres hurdles champion after winning the BritishAAA Championships titles at the1966 AAA Championships and1970 AAA Championships.[7] Additionally he theBritish 440y/400m hurdles champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the1968 AAA Championships[8] and1972 AAA Championships.[9]
Hemery won the first ever BritishSuperstars competition, held in 1973, registering a second victory in 1976, and was recognised as Britain's best Superstar from 1973 to 1977.
As a recently retired athlete, Hemery was free to participate in the professional Superstars contests and keep any prize money he won – unlike many other competitors (likeKjell Isaksson orAndy Ripley). Noticing the very high standard of competition within a short time of the event starting, Hemery created his own training regime, becoming adept at the gymnasium tests and canoeing and propelling himself into national fame.
After winning the original British title, Hemery then entered the 1974 event though he was struggling with illness. Eventually narrowly beaten byJohn Conteh, Hemery then went on to the 1975 European contest where he was beaten again, this time byTies Kruize. When Kruize suffered serious injuries in a car crash before the final, Hemery was invited to participate and performed bravely, scoring points in every event. He was soundly beaten by Kjell Isaksson, but could still finish second. The rules for European Superstars allowed athletes to compete in "near specialist" events with a handicap, meaning that both Hemery and Isaksson were allowed to run in the 100 m and Steeplechase, but only after giving the other finalists a head start. In the final 600 m Steeplechase event Hemery had to make up a 100 m handicap on his rivals in order to finish in overall second, and valiantly did so, but only after again falling badly at the water jump. Hitting the ground hard while challenging Isaksson for the lead, Hemery rose with a grimace of pain on his face then sprinted for the line, grabbing third. However, as soon as the race was over he collapsed, with the TV cameras showing huge swelling to his injured leg – he had run the last 100 m with badly torn ankle ligaments.
In 1976 Hemery won back his British title with a dominating performance. He could not qualify for the European Final this year (beaten by Isaksson again), so he then tried his hand at the American version, qualifying for the final before finishing a disappointing 11th. Because of this sojourn to the US, Hemery was not eligible to compete in the inaugural 1977 World Final, and he did not compete again in individual Superstars again until the 1981 Challenge of the Champions, where he finished joint fourth with his great hurdling rivalJohn Sherwood. Winning the 1983 Past Masters event enabled him to compete in the 1984 International Final (where he finished third, though 40 years old).
| Year | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | British Final | 1st |
| 1974 | British Final | 2nd |
| 1975 | UK Heat | 2nd |
| 1975 | European Final | 2nd |
| 1976 | British Final | 1st |
| 1976 | US Heat 1 | 3rd |
| 1976 | US Final | 11th |
| 1976 | Swedish Heat | 3rd |
| 1981 | Challenge of the Champions | 4th |
| 1983 | UK Past Masters | 1st |
| 1984 | International | 3rd |
After his running career, Hemery worked as a coach in the United States and Great Britain. He returned to his alma mater, Boston University, at which as track coach he was widely admired by his student athletes and in which post he succeeded in recruiting many top-notch British runners to Boston University. In the1969 New Year Honours he was appointed aMember of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), before being promoted toCommander (CBE) in the2003 Birthday Honours, in both cases for services to athletics.[10][11][12] He received a master's degree in education fromHarvard University.[13] For a period in the 1970s he taught at the famous English schoolMillfield. In 1998, he was elected as the first president ofUK Athletics.[14] In 2011 Hemery became the first Briton to be awarded the European Olympic Committee's Laurel Award for services to sport. In 2015, he ran the London Marathon to raise money for the charity that he had founded - '21st Century Legacy'.[15][16]
In 2016, Hemery was appointedDeputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire.[17]
Hemery has written several books.[18]
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Commonwealth Games champions in men's110 metres hurdles | |
|---|---|
| 120 yards hurdles (1930–1966) | |
| 110 metres hurdles (1970–present) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
