Athletics Speakers

David Hemery is a British former athlete, winner of the 400m hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

David Hemery, CBE, is a British former athlete, winner of the 400m hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

David '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.

At the Mexico Olympics in 1968, He 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. David 's performance helped him win the 1968 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

In 1969, David 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, David 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, David 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.

David won the first ever British Superstars competition, held in 1973, registering a second victory in 1976.