David Hemery

David Hemery commands instant respect from me. Winning 400-metre hurdles gold at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in a world record, at altitude no less, is the stuff of legend, not mere achievement. Add the BBC Sports Personality of the Year that same year and a CBE, and you have an athlete who transcended his sport. I picture that 187 cm frame floating over the hurdles and can't help being awed. What seals it for me is that he poured his later years into coaching and education rather than coasting on glory. Hemery strikes me as first-rate in both competition and character, the genuine article.

Name (English)

David Hemery

Name (Japanese)

デビッド・ヘメリー

Reading

でびっど・へめりー

Born

July 18, 1944 (age 82)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Cancer / Monkey

Origin

Cirencester, United Kingdom

Height

187 cm

Occupation

athletics competitor

University

Boston University

Awards & achievements

• Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• 1968 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%87%E3%83%93%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%83%98%E3%83%A1%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC

Tags

• athletics competitor

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.