Renaldo Nehemiah
Renaldo Nehemiah is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in the 110 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 the National Football League as a wide receiver for the San 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.
Track and field career
Nehemiah was nicknamed "Skeets" as a baby because he crawled along the floor so fast. The nickname followed him. He was the national junior champion in 1977, the same year he graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in his hometown of Scotch Plains, New Jersey. 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 and occasionally train over 45 inch hurdles. He was Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1977. The cover was noted for showing Nehemiah in a reflective mood rather than in action as most other T&FN covers. "I always look spaced out at meets, sort of nonchalant," Nehemiah told The New York Times in response. After graduating from Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Nehemiah attended the University of Maryland, where he won three NCAA titles including the 1978-9 NCAA 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 the 1979 IAAF World Cup and Pan-American Games titles, as well as the second of four U.S. national titles. At the 1979 Penn Relays, Nehemiah anchored UMD's shuttle hurdle relay, 4 × 400 meter relay, and 4 × 200 meter relay, and was named meet MVP. 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 4 × 400 meter relay. Nehemiah described his 400-meter leg as follows:
The prohibitive favorite to win the 110-meter hurdles in the 1980 Summer Olympics, he was unable to compete due to a 65-nation boycott of the Games. Nehemiah received one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created for the athletes. At the 1981 Weltklasse meeting in Zürich, 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:
| 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 |
| 4. | 110 m H | 13.00 | May 6 | 1979 | Westwood |
| 5. | 50 yd H | 5.98 | Feb 13 | 1981 | Toronto |
| 6. | 110 m H | 12.93 | Aug 19 | 1981 | Zurich |
| 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 sprinter Evelyn Ashford, was instrumental in reviving Nehemiah's track career after his short foray in football. Connolly is quoted as saying:
She also believed he may have been better suited for the 400 m hurdle event. She is on record as saying:
Nehemiah won the British AAA Championships title in the 100 metres hurdles event at the 1981 AAA Championships.
Track records
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 the Men's [110 metres hurdles world record progression#Records 1977–present|world record] for eight years. |