David Peter Hemery, CBE, (born 18 July 1944) is a British former athlete, winner of the 400m hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
He was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, but his father's work took the family to the United States, where he attended school and graduating from Boston University.
Hemery's first International title came at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, 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 110m hurdles which he won in 13.8 seconds).
At the Mexico Olympics in 1968, Hemery won the 400m hurdles in 48.12 seconds, a new world record. His margin of victory was the largest since the 1924, beating second-placed Gerhard Hennige from West Germany by almost a second. 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 110m hurdles, but missed the next European Championships in 1971 due to injury. At the 1972 Summer Olympics, Hemery tried to defend his title, but could only finish 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 4x400m relay team.
After his running career, Hemery worked as a coach in the United States and Great Britain. In 1969 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. For a period in the 1970s he taught at the famous English school Millfield. In 1998, he was elected as the first president of UK Athletics.
Hemery won the first ever British Superstars competition, held in 1973, registering a second victory in 1976.
References
- David Hemery, Another Hurdle, Heinemann, London, 1976. His autobiography.
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