 Nehemiah in 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1959-03-24)March 24, 1959 (age 66) Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||
| Football career | ||||||||||||||||||
| No. 83 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wide receiver | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 181 lb (82 kg) | |||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Scotch Plains (NJ) Fanwood | |||||||||||||||||
| College | Maryland | |||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1982: undrafted | |||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Sprint, hurdles | |||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 100 m – 10.24 (1979) 200 m – 20.37 (1979) 110 mH – 12.93 (1981)[1][2] | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Renaldo Nehemiah (born March 24, 1959) is a retired Americantrack and field athlete who specialized in the110 m hurdles. He was ranked number one in the world for four straight years, and is a former world record holder. Nehemiah is the first man to run the event in under 13 seconds. Nehemiah also played pro football in theNational Football League (NFL) as awide receiver for theSan Francisco 49ers from 1982 to 1985, before returning to track and field athletics from 1986 to 1991. After retiring from competition, he has worked in sports management.
Nehemiah was nicknamed "Skeets" as a baby because he crawled along the floor so fast.[3] The nickname followed him.[4] He was the national junior champion in 1977, the same year he graduated fromScotch Plains-Fanwood High School in his hometown ofScotch Plains, New Jersey.[5] Nehemiah's high school personal bests were 12.9 in the 110 meter hurdles and 35.8 in the 300 meter hurdles, so much faster than his competitors that his coach had him compete over 42 inch hurdles (collegiate height) and occasionally train over 45 inch hurdles.[6] He wasTrack and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1977.[7][8][9] The cover was noted for showing Nehemiah in a reflective mood rather than in action as most otherT&FN covers.[10] "I always look spaced out at meets, sort of nonchalant," Nehemiah toldThe New York Times in response.[10] After graduating from Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Nehemiah attended theUniversity of Maryland, where he won threeNCAA titles including the 1978-9NCAA Indoor Championships.
Nehemiah's sophomore year at Maryland proved to be his breakout year. He broke the world record in the 110 meter hurdles twice in two weeks, running 13.16 and then 13.00. He won the1979 IAAF World Cup andPan-American Games titles, as well as the second of four U.S. national titles.[1] At the 1979Penn Relays, Nehemiah anchored UMD's shuttle hurdle relay,4 × 400 meter relay, and4 × 200 meter relay, and was named meet MVP.[6] During the relays he recorded an unofficial split of 19.4 seconds in the 4-by-200 meterrelay and a 44.3 second split in the 4 × 400 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.
— Renaldo Nehemiah[11]
The prohibitive favorite to win the 110-meter hurdles in the1980 Summer Olympics, he was unable to compete due to a 65-nationboycott of the Games. Nehemiah received one of 461Congressional Gold Medals created for the athletes.[12] At the 1981Weltklasse meeting inZürich, Switzerland, Nehemiah broke the world record for the 110 meter hurdles and became the first person to ever run the race in less than 13 seconds. In an interview, Nehemiah explained his race as less than ideal:
I was way out of control over the first hurdle. Then I floated over the second hurdle, andGreg [Foster] caught me going into the third hurdle. From there, I just ran as fast as I could. It was just one of those things where I was just determined to win. I knew that if I could stay out in front, I could make him make a mistake. He's six-foot-three, so if I'm getting crowded between hurdles, I know he's getting crowded trying to chase me. For the first three hurdles I had too much adrenaline; I couldn't control it, so I had to slow myself down. I knew that, technically, I was a better hurdler, faster between and over the hurdles. That's probably what got me ahead of him. It's a different race when you're chasing someone than when you're being chased.
— Renaldo Nehemiah[6]
| No. | Event | Time | Date | Year | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 50 m H | 6.36 | Feb 3 | 1979 | Edmonton |
| 2. | 55 m H | 6.89 | Jan 20 | 1979 | New York |
| 3. | 110 m H | 13.16 | Apr 14 | 1979 | San Jose[1] |
| 4. | 110 m H | 13.00 | May 6 | 1979 | Westwood[1] |
| 5. | 50 yd H | 5.98 | Feb 13 | 1981 | Toronto |
| 6. | 110 m H | 12.93 | Aug 19 | 1981 | Zurich[1] |
| 7. | 50 yd H | 5.92 | Jan 29 | 1982 | Toronto |
| 8. | 60 yd H | 6.82 | Jan 30 | 1982 | Dallas |
Pat Connolly, who also coached sprinterEvelyn 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 matchedHarrison Dillard's achievement (double gold in the 100m and 110m hurdles). He clearly could have run under 9.9 in the 100.
— Pat Connolly[13]
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.
— Pat Connolly[13]
Nehemiah won the BritishAAA Championships title in the 100 metres hurdles event at the1981 AAA Championships.[14][15][16]
As of 15 September 2024, Nehemiah holds the following track records for 110 metres hurdles.
| Location | Time | Windspeed m/s | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bern | 13.20 | + 1.3 | 29/08/1979 | |
| Champaign, IL. | 12.91 | + 3.5 | 01/06/1979 | |
| Düsseldorf | 13.40 | + 0.2 | 06/07/1978 | |
| Koblenz | 13.04 | 0.0 | 26/08/1981 | |
| San Juan | 13.20 | + 2.0 | 11/07/1979 | |
| Syracuse | 13.00 | + 3.5 | 26/07/1981 | |
| Västerås | 13.40 | + 0.5 | 26/06/1979 | |
| Viareggio | 13.31 | – 0.4 | 05/08/1981 | |
| Walnut, CA. | 13.19 | + 1.5 | 16/06/1979 | |
| Westwood, CA. | 13.00 | + 0.9 | 06/05/1979 | This was theworld record for eight years. |
Despite never playing football in college,[17] Nehemiah worked out in 1982 for several NFL teams, including theSan Francisco 49ers,Pittsburgh Steelers,Washington Redskins,Dallas Cowboys,Philadelphia Eagles,New York Giants andNew England Patriots; he signed with the 49ers. During his three years as awide receiver he caught 43 passes for 754 yards, a 17.5 average, and four touchdowns. Nehemiah was deemed expendable in 1985 when the 49ers draftedJerry Rice in the first round, and he returned to the track in 1986.
Nehemiah was the only four-time winner ofTheSuperstars, a made-for-televisiondecathlon-style competition broadcast byABC Sports (and during the late 1980s,NBC Sports). He won the event in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1986.
He is currently involved with Athletics Managers, a sports management and marketing agency. Clients he has represented have includedAllen Johnson,Mark Crear,Justin Gatlin,Sha'Carri Richardson[18] and 2012 400 meter Olympic Gold MedalistKirani James.
In 1977, Nehemiah became National Junior Champion in the 110 and 300 yard hurdle events and was named "High School Athlete of the Year" by Track & Field News.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's 110m Hurdles World Record Holder April 14, 1979 – August 16, 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | ACC Athlete of the Year 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Track & Field News High School Boys Athlete of the Year 1977 | Succeeded by |
| Achievements | ||
| Preceded by | Men's 110m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1979–1981 | Succeeded by |
USTFCCCA Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame | ||
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| Class of 2022 |
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| Class of 2023 | ||
| Class of 2024 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
