Nehemiah, Renaldo
Track and Field
b. March 24, 1959, Newark, NJ
Running for the University of Maryland, Nehemiah won the NCAA indoor 60-yard high hurdles in 1978 and 1979 and the outdoor 110-meter hurdle championship in 1979. He was also the AAU 110-meter hurdle champion in 1978 and 1979, and he won the event at the 1979 Pan-American Games and World Cup competition.
Nehemiah set four world records in 1979. He ran the indoor 50-meter hurdles in 6.36 seconds and the 60-yard hurdles in 6.89 seconds. After setting a record of 13.16 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, he lowered it to exactly 13.00 seconds.
Nicknamed "Skeets," Nehemiah signed a contract with an athletic shoe company in 1980, losing his college eligibility though he retained his amateur standing. He won the national outdoor 110-meter hurdles that year.
In 1981, Nehemiah lowered his world records to 5.98 seconds in the 50-yard hurdles and to 12.93 seconds in the 110-meter event, becoming the first hurdler to break the 13-second barrier. He ran two more world record times, 5.92 in the 50-yard and 6.82 seconds in the 60-yard, in 1982.
Nehemiah joined the NFL's San Francisco 49ers as a wide receiver in 1982. He spent three seasons with them, catching 43 passes for 754 yards, a 17.5 average, and 4 touchdowns.