The late great David Coleman's brilliant commentary, it gives me goose bumps, and brings a few tears to my eyes. what wonderful times we oldies lived through.
That day in 1968 I watched the race with curiosity because the day before Hemery had answered the journalists' questions saying he was sure he would win, and when asked about the Americans' finishing speed he had replied: "right, but when they come to the final stretch I shall be too far ahead for them"... after that I loved every second of the race.
Yes I remember watching this live as an 11 year old. Astonishing run then and still looks astonishing now. What a majestic hurdler he was. One of the finest Olympic 400 metre hurdles performances ever.
Met David Hemery in a Premier Inn in Sheffield March 2020. We were going to a Judo comp, Him an athletics meet. Couldnt believe I was meeting one of my hero's. He was polite and patient as I introduced him to my kids before we all went on to get our breakfast. Guy had never aged and just looked the picture of himself. Absolutely magic.
I met John Sherwood, the bronze medallist in this epic race, at Berry Hill Track in Mansfield in 1981, he was presenting the medals at an event I had competed in. He happily sat and chatted to me about his career and gave me some very good advice as I was also a 400m hurdler. He told me that he was actually in the form of his life in 1972, but pulled a calf muscle just before the AAA's championships and never made the Olympics that year. He also came second in the World Superstars final in 1980. The advice he gave me was spot-on as I went on to represent Ireland in the 400mH in the 1980's.
No, not a great commentary. A bit too anglocentric. Also, Coleman later apologised for saying "who cares who's third". Sherwood cared as did the guy who finished fourth. A mistake from a perfectionist like Coleman.
This was one of my favourite childhood moments sport wise as a nine year old kid .. and John sherwood stormed to a bronze from 6th in the home strait, nobody mentions John sherwood ! What a sprint ! And David hemery went on to a bronze (?) in 1972 in the same race won by John Aki-bua ..
Watch the race hundreds of times, I find David one of the most inspirational men in the sporting ever, and having had the privilege to be with him one weekend on a leadership training course back in 2007 was pricless An incredible ambassador for British sport and a true gentleman.
Not a deeply flawed commentary at all. Coleman had a rare gift to project the excitement we all felt as an indelible addition to the event. Shortly after on this commentary he did mention Sherwood but he gave the race and Hemery’s performance the showcase it deserved.
Yes, surely one of the greatest performances in track and field history. An event which had been revolutionised in the USA trials 5 weeks prior,and Hemery took the record apart
Hemery never took drugs once when he was an athlete unlike Gatlin who should've been banned for life! Hemery is one of the greatest British athletes in history.
I was in many of the same classes at Boston University, College of Business Administration, with Dave Hemery, after he won the gold metal, and I remember congratulating him personally, for winning the gold metal
+Simon Ward David Coleman did apologise to John Sherwood later when he realised his mistake. Although not easy to come by now British golds were a rare species in those days so we can excuse the oversight with, as you say, the raw emotion of DC's voice.
Such a brilliant performance by David Hemery, enhanced massively by David Coleman's fantastic commentary (which I think deserves forgiveness for the 'who cares' at the end when John Sherwood of Britain was the one who came third!).
I remember as an 11 year old child where I was that day, that moment he won gold @ Weston Super Mare with my late mom and dad in a touring caravan watching the Olympics on a black and white portable battery TV , picture awful but didn't matter my late dad loved sport and he went ballistic when Hemery won gold, his reaction I will remember for ever as much as Hemery on the podium, thanks for the memories xx
The greatest track performance I’ve ever seen. Not just an Olympic gold and a. world record, but the gap between Hemery and the rest is enormous for a race over 400 metres. Sensational.
As Rio ends, had to watch this, as it was my very first memory of an Olympics. Running downstairs aged 9 to hear David Coleman screeching "it's Hemery Great Britain" Of course, in many ways, it's classic Coleman. Memorable.emotional commentary, but the cock-up at the end! Rio best ever Games for me!
I always felt it was a great shame that John Sherwood was largely ignored in this race. He very nearly got silver (he settled for the bronze) but Coleman actually said: ‘who cares who came third!’
Watch something incredible: David Hemery @DavidHemeryCBE - 400m Hurdles 1968 Olympic Gold in world record time. Destroyed the field. Mexico City’s altitude is 2,250 metres! Incredible! Then dominated Superstars on TV! #DavidHemery #superstars #Olympics
i remembent r on superstars he was cheated out of winning the euro final, having to start 200 yards behind, he caught them all up , went first on last hurdle, then cruelly fell at water jump, still had the courage to get up , and didn,t complain [ GREAT ENGLISH MAN GREAT GENTLEMAN
my favourite ever british sporting moment [ this wonderful man who i have met [ he is the nicest man [ great commentary by david coleman [ even now this time would get a medal in most olympics [ he was cruelly ignored in london olympic coverage by micheal johnson , who i like [ but he didnt seem to know who he was , very embarrasing
"who cares who's third"? well as it was John Sherwood of Great Britain, David Coleman really mess up here, and he got a lot of stick for it if I remember rightly.
+Gee Stevens He did apologise to John Sherwood of course who I'm sure would have understood the circumstances but a bit of a boo-boo all the same. Still, we all make mistakes and David Coleman was superb at his job.
Is it right that Hemery qualified for the final with the slowest time? I heard that somewhere. If true, it renders typical 'punditry' and the 'wise before the event' analyses even more null and void than I already think!
No, Skomorokhov of the Soviet Union had the slowest time (49.6). Hemery finished third in his semi behind Hennige of West Germany and Whitney of the USA. Four runners had faster times over the two semis. Hemery's winning time was 9/10ths of a second quicker than anyone had run in that Olympics.
the poor old italian in lane 3 landed over the final hurdle in 2nd place some way ahead of all the others except hemery - so was looking very good for the silver medal at least - but then finished 4th at the end and so didn't get anything - the olympics can be cruel!
Actually he finished last in 50.1 secs, he paid the price for trying to keep up with Hemery. His name was Frinolli and was the reigning European champion from 1966.
My old geography teacher was an ex NZ All Black. Even though he was more like Larry Grayson than Jonah Lomu. Gave me A one year - that is what early stage dementia can do for you.
gallagher you are correct my friend and auntie Anne did infact win gold in 64 but this was the first mens gold for GB since ancient times and judging by the winning margin our boy was juiced up to the eyeballs
This was before John Akii-Bua and Edwin Moses. Blacks from Africa were not allowed in the shorter distances back then. These mid distances were strictly an all European affair with the former British colonies of Canada and Australia as well as the USA allowed to compete. Europeans stick together.
The late great David Coleman's brilliant commentary, it gives me goose bumps, and brings a few tears to my eyes. what wonderful times we oldies lived through.
He was a superb commentator, knew how to accentuate drama, but "Who cares who's 3rd, it doesn't matter" is a slip.
That day in 1968 I watched the race with curiosity because the day before Hemery had answered the journalists' questions saying he was sure he would win, and when asked about the Americans' finishing speed he had replied: "right, but when they come to the final stretch I shall be too far ahead for them"... after that I loved every second of the race.
Superb performance. Possibly the best ever by a Briton in the Olympic s. Fantastic commentary by Coleman too.
and in this round, what happens next 😂😂😂
Spot on. 😎
Aside from ignoring who came 3rd....
@@johnmackenzie5375 who cares? not me!
@@dutchy777 I think the significance of it was that it was the other Briton, John Sherwood who took the bronze.
Yes I remember watching this live as an 11 year old. Astonishing run then and still looks astonishing now. What a majestic hurdler he was.
One of the finest Olympic 400 metre hurdles performances ever.
Met David Hemery in a Premier Inn in Sheffield March 2020. We were going to a Judo comp, Him an athletics meet. Couldnt believe I was meeting one of my hero's. He was polite and patient as I introduced him to my kids before we all went on to get our breakfast. Guy had never aged and just looked the picture of himself. Absolutely magic.
Me too met him on a tube train real gentleman / didn’t mind that I recognised him 👍
@Tim & Raymond……2 good posts
I met John Sherwood, the bronze medallist in this epic race, at Berry Hill Track in Mansfield in 1981, he was presenting the medals at an event I had competed in. He happily sat and chatted to me about his career and gave me some very good advice as I was also a 400m hurdler. He told me that he was actually in the form of his life in 1972, but pulled a calf muscle just before the AAA's championships and never made the Olympics that year. He also came second in the World Superstars final in 1980. The advice he gave me was spot-on as I went on to represent Ireland in the 400mH in the 1980's.
No you didn't
Great story and congratulations to you. 😎👍
@@EricForney-uz4iz Thanks Eric.
@@EricForney-uz4iz By the way, I've changed my login from seamusmcevoy2011 to this one, sorry for the confusion.
I saw John still running well in late 70s at Haringey AC meet. Won 400 easily
One of the greatest British athletic performances and the greatest ever commentary!
No, not a great commentary. A bit too anglocentric. Also, Coleman later apologised for saying "who cares who's third". Sherwood cared as did the guy who finished fourth. A mistake from a perfectionist like Coleman.
David Hemery and David Coleman, it just doesn't get any better than that.
This was one of my favourite childhood moments sport wise as a nine year old kid .. and John sherwood stormed to a bronze from 6th in the home strait, nobody mentions John sherwood ! What a sprint ! And David hemery went on to a bronze (?) in 1972 in the same race won by John Aki-bua ..
And silver in the 4x400 relay.
John Sherwood also won the Commonwealth Games 400m Hurdles title in 1970, beating John Akii-Bua who went on to win the Olympic title in '72.
"Who cares who's third" well my old PE teacher Mr John Sherwood did cos it was him .
John Sherwood was third, I saw this race first time in my life today, heard a lot, in the past, about this Hemery bloke.
@@-waltt3467 David Hemery was my dad's track coach in the 70s at BU.
all the sprint records went in mexico because of the thin air.
distance events were another story!
Someone lower down in the comments section also says John Sherwood was his PE teacher and is less than complimentary about his teaching skills
Typical Coleman....as crass as ever. GB got Third with John Sherwood from the outside lane.
David was my coach at Boston University. Outstanding individual.
Unforgettable olympic memory for Britain, & a world record too. The great David Coleman's commentary was unforgettable too!
Commentary ruined by not caring who came 3rd
Watch the race hundreds of times, I find David one of the most inspirational men in the sporting ever, and having had the privilege to be with him one weekend on a leadership training course back in 2007 was pricless An incredible ambassador for British sport and a true gentleman.
Excellent post
David Coleman so awesome...even today his commentary gives me the chills....wonderful
Hemery's fantastic performance, won by a mile and Coleman's incomparable commentary = priceless
Deeply flawed commentary, didn't care who came 3rd!
Not a deeply flawed commentary at all. Coleman had a rare gift to project the excitement we all felt as an indelible addition to the event. Shortly after on this commentary he did mention Sherwood but he gave the race and Hemery’s performance the showcase it deserved.
Yes, surely one of the greatest performances in track and field history. An event which had been revolutionised in the USA trials 5 weeks prior,and Hemery took the record apart
@@mizofan who gives a shit, he was caught in the moment like most of us were watching, apart from you
Hemery never took drugs once when he was an athlete unlike Gatlin who should've been banned for life! Hemery is one of the greatest British athletes in history.
@@tsmay4598 because he told him
Of the 1000's of athletes who took drugs, why pick on one of the few who became clean, trained, and did great things in the sport. Bad post
I agree about Gatlin.
@@stoolpigeon4285 Gatlin? He was suspended twice. If you think he was clean at any point in his career, his history of drug use refutes your claim.
I remember watching this as a kid. David Coleman's commentary brought tears of emotion to my eyes - and still does.
Great comment Mark, me too, me too.
@@ysgol3 and me Hemery + Coleman, priceless
I saw it too. I was so excited, I was 13
It still brings tears to John Sherwood's eyes as well.
That’s the greatest sporting commentary ever !!!
Wow Wow Wow Still brings shivers down my spine & a tear in my eye !
I was in many of the same classes at Boston University, College of Business Administration, with Dave Hemery, after he won the gold metal, and I remember congratulating him personally, for winning the gold metal
Edward Holzberg It must have been a dream come true for Hemery, to stand on top of the metal podium...
I was waiting for an anecdote- please complete it
Ive met david hemery today at my athletics competition 😊 in so happy to rewatch this
The raw emotion of Coleman's voice is a joy plus of course the other side of him -foot in mouth- 'who cares who's third'
+Simon Ward David Coleman did apologise to John Sherwood later when he realised his mistake. Although not easy to come by now British golds were a rare species in those days so we can excuse the oversight with, as you say, the raw emotion of DC's voice.
Such a brilliant performance by David Hemery, enhanced massively by David Coleman's fantastic commentary (which I think deserves forgiveness for the 'who cares' at the end when John Sherwood of Britain was the one who came third!).
DH Fan whoever you are (:.......Thanks for putting this back up on RUclips...
Inspiring as ever and I love Coleman's commentary... . M
Michael Campbell You're welcome :) Took some time to work out how
Are you a friend of Dave's, he went to school with me and we had the same coach Fred Housden ...
Hemery was so smooth and quick over the hurdles
Yep,he just kept getting faster ! I was 6yrs old but still remember it well,was it quite late at night in England?
I remember as an 11 year old child where I was that day, that moment he won gold @ Weston Super Mare with my late mom and dad in a touring caravan watching the Olympics on a black and white portable battery TV , picture awful but didn't matter my late dad loved sport and he went ballistic when Hemery won gold, his reaction I will remember for ever as much as Hemery on the podium, thanks for the memories xx
Back in those dark distant days when one gold was a national miracle.
How times have changed !!
A truly great athletes. But, what seems to be forgotten is his brilliant run in the 1972 4x400 relay final to help the UK get silver.
The greatest track performance I’ve ever seen. Not just an Olympic gold and a. world record, but the gap between Hemery and the rest is enormous for a race over 400 metres. Sensational.
As Rio ends, had to watch this, as it was my very first memory of an Olympics. Running downstairs aged 9 to hear David Coleman screeching "it's Hemery Great Britain" Of course, in many ways, it's classic Coleman. Memorable.emotional commentary, but the cock-up at the end! Rio best ever Games for me!
I remember watching this before working to school
Classic Hemery and Classic Coleman! Two f the Best.
One of the most memorable olympic events ever, remember watching this in 1968 as an 11 year old wonderful memories.
Hemery was a truly great athlete. I don't think Coleman messed up as Sherwood was way behind at one stage and its still a memorable commentary
He did mess up, cos regardless that it turned out a British athlete came 3rd, Coleman showed his narrow-minded bias
I always felt it was a great shame that John Sherwood was largely ignored in this race. He very nearly got silver (he settled for the bronze) but Coleman actually said: ‘who cares who came third!’
Such a stupid thing to say!
Awesome moment in British sport from a great nice man
Coleman sounds like he is commentating the grand national!
An easy and brilliant win for Hemery. I imagine David Coleman regretted that "who cares who's third" comment for the rest of his career.
My dad in the 70’s. Well done pops. ❤
Watch something incredible: David Hemery
@DavidHemeryCBE
- 400m Hurdles 1968 Olympic Gold in world record time. Destroyed the field.
Mexico City’s altitude is 2,250 metres! Incredible!
Then dominated Superstars on TV! #DavidHemery #superstars #Olympics
the greatest ever athletics pergormance from a britain [ this nice man, cruelly ignored by bbc [ and snubbed at london olympics
How about Daley Thompson 1984
Both very true ❤️
Great memories Mexico is when I fell in love with the olympics as a boy
Great unbiased commentary from the master David Coleman 💖😂👍
Are you deaf? Awful biased commentary, didn't care who came 3rd
Great man my favourite ever British sporting moment
Monday 15th October is the 50th anniversary of this great race.
i remembent r on superstars he was cheated out of winning the euro final, having to start 200 yards behind, he caught them all up , went first on last hurdle, then cruelly fell at water jump, still had the courage to get up , and didn,t complain [ GREAT ENGLISH MAN GREAT GENTLEMAN
Fantastic looking back
To think that he would have been about 20m behind the current world record. Things have changed a lot.
What a runner
My favourite English sports man and sporting moments A GREAT MAN 👍
I would include J Edwards and D Thompson. My fav 3 !
my favourite ever british sporting moment [ this wonderful man who i have met [ he is the nicest man [ great commentary by david coleman [ even now this time would get a medal in most olympics [ he was cruelly ignored in london olympic coverage by micheal johnson , who i like [ but he didnt seem to know who he was , very embarrasing
An absolute classic moment of commentary! Coleman at his very best….or worst if you were John Sherwood! 😂
Worst, whoever came 3rd
"who cares who's third"? well as it was John Sherwood of Great Britain, David Coleman really mess up here, and he got a lot of stick for it if I remember rightly.
+Gee Stevens He did apologise to John Sherwood of course who I'm sure would have understood the circumstances but a bit of a boo-boo all the same. Still, we all make mistakes and David Coleman was superb at his job.
The story goes that John Sherwood told David Coleman when he apologised that he was absolutely right with his comment given Hemery's performance.
I wish Coleman was still here to commentate on the Olympics and other major sporting events.
yes, for all his 'Coleman's Balls' he was one of the all time great commentators, Ron Pickering too.
@@davebesag That's a great story, David's commentary here, like with Lillian Board in the same games, was brilliant despite the little blooper.
BRITAINS GREATEST ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
My hurdles coach at school is David hemry
There was only one David Coleman.
五輪前の世界記録を１秒も縮める番狂わせにテレビを観ていて大興奮したものでした。予選で世界新記録を出した🇺🇸ホイットニー、世界タイの🇩🇪シューベルトはどうしたんでしょうか、ペースが乱れてますね。
"Who cares who came third?" Er, John Sherwood! A pricelss Colemanball
Is it right that Hemery qualified for the final with the slowest time? I heard that somewhere. If true, it renders typical 'punditry' and the 'wise before the event' analyses even more null and void than I already think!
No, Skomorokhov of the Soviet Union had the slowest time (49.6). Hemery finished third in his semi behind Hennige of West Germany and Whitney of the USA. Four runners had faster times over the two semis. Hemery's winning time was 9/10ths of a second quicker than anyone had run in that Olympics.
0:44 Sherwood clearly is not in second place at this point.
the poor old italian in lane 3 landed over the final hurdle in 2nd place some way ahead of all the others except hemery - so was looking very good for the silver medal at least - but then finished 4th at the end and so didn't get anything - the olympics can be cruel!
Actually he finished last in 50.1 secs, he paid the price for trying to keep up with Hemery. His name was Frinolli and was the reigning European champion from 1966.
@@josephazzopardi322 actually i got it wrong - it was Geoff Vanderstock of USA (also wearing blue like the Italian you mentioned).
What a time, there not much faster now despite all their drugs training advancements
There is now with Karsten W's new World record.......the first European to win since Hemery I think
Typical Coleman...who cares who's third. The British athlete who was cared!
John Sherwood was my pe teacher, arrogant and rubbish as a teacher,a bully, he could never have beaten David hemery ever, just not good enough.
My old geography teacher was an ex NZ All Black. Even though he was more like Larry Grayson than Jonah Lomu. Gave me A one year - that is what early stage dementia can do for you.
he was mine as well .. fantastic bloke i expect you hated Mr Jennings as well
Obviously someone who always 'forgot' their kit or who had a note from Mummy to get you out of PE!!
Of course he was...he was a PE teacher.
His wife Sheila won a silver medal in the long jump as well!
What a run, spoiled a bit by Coleman’s somewhat hysterical commentary.
It was Britain's first track gold in 3000 years
@@brettpacker2779 Didn't Anne Packer win gold in 1964?
gallagher you are correct my friend and auntie Anne did infact win gold in 64 but this was the first mens gold for GB since ancient times and judging by the winning margin our boy was juiced up to the eyeballs
This was before John Akii-Bua and Edwin Moses. Blacks from Africa were not allowed in the shorter distances back then. These mid distances were strictly an all European affair with the former British colonies of Canada and Australia as well as the USA allowed to compete. Europeans stick together.
"Not allowed"? More like African countries were so poor in 60's that they couldn't afford to train or send athletes to Olympics or any major events