Renaldo Nehemiah

Renaldo Nehemiah (born March 24, 1959) is a retired American 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 (NFL) as a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers from 1982 to 1985, before returning to track and field athletics from 1986 to 1991. He now works in sports management.

Track and field career

Nehemiah was nicknamed "Skeets" as a baby because he crawled so fast.^[1] The nickname followed him.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] He was Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1977.^[5] After graduating from Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Nehemiah attended the University of Maryland, where he won three NCAA titles (two indoor).

Nehemiah's sophomore year at UMD 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.^[6] 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:

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^[7]

The prohibitive favorite to win the 110-meter hurdles in the 1980 Summer Olympics, he was unable to compete due to a 64-nation boycott of the Games. 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:

I was way out of control over the first hurdle. Then I floated over the second hurdle, and Greg [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^[8]

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 run under 9.9 in the 100.

— Pat Connolly^[9]

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^[10]

Career highlights for 110 m hurdles

Football career

Despite never playing football in college,^[11] Nehemiah worked out in 1982 for several NFL teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and New England Patriots; he signed with the 49ers. During his three years as a wide receiver he caught 43 passes for 754 yards, a 17.5 average, and four 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 is deemed by some to be a failure – many think it represents one of the most glaring mistakes ever made by 49ers head coach Bill Walsh – winning Nehemiah a comparison to the track star Jimmie "Oops" Hines, who won his infamous nickname for his inability to catch the ball. However, a strong point of Nehemiah was that he would draw the defense into deep coverage whenever he was on the field. He would often be guarded with deep or double coverage, thereby demonstrating a success of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was made expendable in 1985 when the 49ers drafted Jerry Rice in the first round, and he returned to the track in 1986.

The Superstars

Nehemiah was the only four-time winner of The Superstars, a made-for-television decathlon-style competition broadcast by ABC Sports (and during the late 1980s, NBC Sports). He won the event in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1986.

Management

He is currently involved with Octagon Sports Marketing, a sports management and marketing agency, as the Director of Track & Field. Clients have included Allen Johnson, Mark Crear and Justin Gatlin and most recently 2012 400 meter Olympic Gold Medalist Kirani James.

References

External links

• Renaldo Nehemiah profile at IAAF
• Hall of Fame
• Pat Connolly Quotes
• 1979 Penn Relays Quotes
• Career Football Stats
• Super Bowl XIX Stats
• Video containing Nehemiah's 12.93

Records
Preceded by Alejandro Casañas	Men's 110m Hurdles World Record Holder April 14, 1979 – August 16, 1989	Succeeded by Roger Kingdom
Awards
Preceded by Phil Ford	ACC Athlete of the Year 1979	Succeeded by Julie Shea
Preceded by Dwayne Evans	Track & Field News High School Boys Athlete of the Year 1977	Succeeded by Sanya Owalabi
Achievements
Preceded by Greg Foster	Men's 110m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1979 – 1981	Succeeded by Greg Foster

United States Superstars champions
1973: Bob Seagren 1974: Kyle Rote Jr. 1975: O. J. Simpson 1976–77: Kyle Rote Jr. 1978: Wayne Grimditch 1979: Greg Pruitt 1980: Charles White 1981–83: Renaldo Nehemiah 1984: Tom Petranoff 1985: Mark Gastineau 1986: Renaldo Nehemiah 1987–88: Herschel Walker 1989–90: Willie Gault 1991: Kelly Gruber 1992: Mike Powell 1993–94: Dave Johnson 1995–97: competition not held 1998–2000: Jason Sehorn 2001: Hermann Maier 2002: Bode Miller 2003: Jeremy Bloom