12 Facts About David Hemery

At one point the family had returned to Britain for a time, and David Hemery moved back and forth across the Atlantic during his training.

At the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, David Hemery won the 400 m hurdles in 48.12 seconds, a new world record.

David Hemery's performance helped him win the 1968 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

In 1969, David Hemery won a silver at the European Championships in the 110 m hurdles, but missed the next European Championships in 1971 due to injury.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, David Hemery defended his title and finished third, behind John Akii-Bua from Uganda and Ralph Mann from the United States.

David Hemery won the first ever British Superstars competition, held in 1973, registering a second victory in 1976, and was recognised as Britain's best Superstar from 1973 to 1977.

When Kruize suffered serious injuries in a car crash before the final, David Hemery was invited to participate and performed bravely, scoring points in every event.

David Hemery was soundly beaten by Kjell Isaksson, but could still finish second.

In 1976 David Hemery won back his British title with a dominating performance.

David Hemery returned to his alma mater, Boston University, at which as track coach he was widely admired by his student athletes and in which post he succeeded in recruiting many top-notch British runners to Boston University.

David Hemery received a master's degree in education from Harvard University.

In 2011 David Hemery became the first Briton to be awarded the European Olympic Committee's Laurel Award for services to sport.