To my mind David Hemery, like the ‘late’ Ron Clarke, was a perfect Genteman of the track.
It was an amazing breakthrough when David Hemery ran his World record 400m Hurdles of 48.1 in Mexico City, on the 15th of October, 1968. His time 48.01. Geoff Vamderstock ran the previous World record of 48.8, at the American Final Trials, at Lake Tahoe, earlier in September 1968 and, previous to that, the World record holder was Rex Cawley (USA] in 49.1. He won the 1964 Olympic Final in Tokyo.
David` Hemery won the Commonweal High hurdles in 1966 (120yds in 14.1) & 1970 (110m in 13.6) and was 2nd in the European high hurdles in 1969 in Athens. In this article I will be talking about his 400m hurdles win in Mexico and his bronze in the same event, at the Olympics in Munich in 1972.
His club in the UK was Hillingdon AC. He was born on the 8th of July 1944 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. (He was 6ft 1 ½ & and he weighed in at 11s 10lbs in his racing days.) David’s Father Peter, was the first to start him with his athletics. With his brother John he used to run around the back garden at home and, he enjoyed hurdling the breakwaters at Frinton on sea.
The family did go to live in America, before he returned to the UK. He was firstly at the Academy High school in Braintree, Massachusetts but it was not till he then went to Boston University, he really started to blossom and was coached with strength conditioning by Billy Smith, the coach at Boston who used to correspond with his British Technical coach Fred Housden.
His event was the 400 hurdles at the Olympic Games in Mexico. The Americans were the favorites for the title. The end result of the Final was 1. David Hmery (GB from Lane 5) 48.01; 2 The fastest semi -final winner, Gerhard Hennige (WG Lane 2) 49.0; 3 John Sherwood (GB Lane 8 the 1970 Commonwealth Champion) 49.0; 4th Geoff Vanderstock, US Final Trials winner in a WR; Lane 3) 49.0; 5th Vyacheslav Skomorokhov (Sov) The European Champion in 19.69) lane 5, 49,1; 6th Ron Whitney, Strongly fancied from the USA Lane7, 49.2 ; 7th Ralf Shubert (WG) Lane 1; 49.2; 8th Roberto Frinolli European Champion 1966) Lane 4 (50.1).
David explains “My time at the half way mark was 23.0. where Whitney was probably 23.6-7, which would have given me that six metres advantage which I had at that stage. I might have been a bit faster if it had been a warn day and the track had been dry. I was under control the whole way round, almost’ but I had absolutely no idea where the rest of the field was after the middle of the final bend. I ran very hard from start to the finish. This was different to what I usually had done; on all previous occasions in 1968’ I had maintained a 13stride pattern to the fifth only. Again, if conditions in Mexico had been better on the actual day I now know that I might have reached the seventh hurdle with 13’s. As for the time, I must admit that I was a little surprised, although I knew it was a fast one. The only part of the race that I would criticize myself for r is the last 50 metres. I tried to get into a sprint but, could not, and I. Was waiting for the crowd reaction, to hear they were gasping or roaring, as if someone to gear if they were gasping as if somone was closing up on me. I just heard a continual great roar, so had to push harder and harder to make sure I was not pipped on the post. As I crossed the white line, and even as i approached it, I had the most peculiar feeling in my stomach I had won! As I turned round on the track, my eyes focused on the electric timer in the centre—48.1 I was elated I thought I would float away; I’ll never forget that emotional moment as long as i live. It lasted for hours”
Olympic 400m Hurdles in Munich on the 2nd of September, at 16.15
1 John Akii -BUA (Uganda) 47.82 World Record from Lane 1; ‘2 Ralph Mann (USA) Lane 6, 48:51,
3 David Hemery (GB) Lane 3; 48.52; 4th James Seymour (USA) lane 4; 48.64. , 5th Rainer Shubert in Lane 7 in 49.65. Yevgeny Gavrilenko (URS) the 1968 European Junior Champion. Lane 2 in 49.66
6 Stavros Tzrortzis (Gre) 49.66; from Lane 8 with 49.65, 8th Yuri y Zorin from lane 3. 50.25 “In Munich you went ahead in the back straight and then Ak-iiBua appeared to forget hurdling completely but came through extremely strongly, Did that surprise you?
“I think it surprised everybody, and probably Akii himself, there was another factor.
In Munich. I went too fast too soon, In Munich between 2&3, I was running about 20.5 pace for 200. My best 200 is about 21.8 so it was not surprising that I paid for it in the home straight. I accelerated extremely hard But as you mentioned, Akii saw me ahead and again made a bit of a surge about the sixth hurdle and, for a split second he must have thought’ there goes the gold!. He came back and that was what a real champion does; the fact he would not give up when, perhaps many people would let that little statement of ‘there he goes’ but as you said ,he neglected to look at the hurdles and just ran flat out from there to the tape.”