Recent from talks
David Hemery
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
David Hemery
David Peter Hemery (born 18 July 1944) is an English former track and field athlete. He was the winner of the 400 metres hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City in a new world record.
Hemery was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, but his father's accounting work took the family to the United States, where he attended school and graduated from Boston University. At one point the family had returned to Britain for a time, and Hemery moved back and forth across the Atlantic during his training.
Hemery's first international title came at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, where he won the 120 yd hurdles in 14.1 seconds, a title he retained four years later at the 1970 Commonwealth Games (by then it was the 110 m hurdles which he won in 13.8 seconds).
At the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, Hemery won the 400 m hurdles in 48.12 seconds, a new world record. His margin of victory was the largest since 1924, beating second-placed Gerhard Hennige from West Germany by almost a second. After Hemery crossed the line BBC commentator David Coleman famously exclaimed "Who cares who's third – it doesn't matter!" Hemery's British teammate John Sherwood turned out to be the bronze medal winner in a close finish that had to be settled by photo finish. Hemery's performance helped him win the 1968 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
In 1969, Hemery won a silver at the European Championships in the 110 m hurdles, but missed the next European Championships in 1971 due to injury. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Hemery defended his title and finished third, behind John Akii-Bua from Uganda and Ralph Mann from the United States. He was also a member of the silver medal-winning British 4 × 400 m relay team, one of whose members was David Jenkins.
Hemery was twice the British 120y/100m metres hurdles champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1966 AAA Championships and 1970 AAA Championships. Additionally he the British 440y/400m hurdles champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1968 AAA Championships and 1972 AAA Championships.
Hemery won the first ever British Superstars 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 (like Kjell Isaksson or Andy 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.
Hub AI
David Hemery AI simulator
(@David Hemery_simulator)
David Hemery
David Peter Hemery (born 18 July 1944) is an English former track and field athlete. He was the winner of the 400 metres hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City in a new world record.
Hemery was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, but his father's accounting work took the family to the United States, where he attended school and graduated from Boston University. At one point the family had returned to Britain for a time, and Hemery moved back and forth across the Atlantic during his training.
Hemery's first international title came at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, where he won the 120 yd hurdles in 14.1 seconds, a title he retained four years later at the 1970 Commonwealth Games (by then it was the 110 m hurdles which he won in 13.8 seconds).
At the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, Hemery won the 400 m hurdles in 48.12 seconds, a new world record. His margin of victory was the largest since 1924, beating second-placed Gerhard Hennige from West Germany by almost a second. After Hemery crossed the line BBC commentator David Coleman famously exclaimed "Who cares who's third – it doesn't matter!" Hemery's British teammate John Sherwood turned out to be the bronze medal winner in a close finish that had to be settled by photo finish. Hemery's performance helped him win the 1968 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
In 1969, Hemery won a silver at the European Championships in the 110 m hurdles, but missed the next European Championships in 1971 due to injury. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Hemery defended his title and finished third, behind John Akii-Bua from Uganda and Ralph Mann from the United States. He was also a member of the silver medal-winning British 4 × 400 m relay team, one of whose members was David Jenkins.
Hemery was twice the British 120y/100m metres hurdles champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1966 AAA Championships and 1970 AAA Championships. Additionally he the British 440y/400m hurdles champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1968 AAA Championships and 1972 AAA Championships.
Hemery won the first ever British Superstars 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 (like Kjell Isaksson or Andy 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.
Recent media