It is always fun to interview someone who was a superstar and budding legend at the same time I was competing. During my college days, or at least soon after, I knew full well who Roger Kingdom was. He held the world record in the high hurdles for four years, which meant his time was better than Renaldo Nehemiah and Greg Foster, two other guys that I knew of very well. It's very cool to see that his new path has led to the NFL. Congrats to the newest Arizona Cardinals coach..thank goodness they are not in the same division as the Redskins anymore!
In his high hurdling heyday, Roger Kingdom was the baddest man on the planet. The Georgia native was drawn to the University of Pittsburgh on a football scholarship, but found more success on the Panther track team, earning two NCAA hurdle titles. According to the bio on his website,
www.rogerkingdom.com, it was “after winning his first title (110-meter highs in 1983 outdoor championship) that he knew his future would be with the high hurdles.” Kingdom redshirted from football after his sophomore year in 1983 to concentrate on making the Olympic team. After winning the gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, it was obvious that his choice to commit fully to track was the correct one.
Kingdom followed his gold medal performance of 1984 with another Olympic championship four years later in Seoul, South Korea. In the process, Kingdom became the first Olympian to eclipse the 13 second mark, with a 12.98. Three years later, he set the world record in his event, running a 12.92 at a meet in Zurich, Switzerland, a record that would stand for four years. Kingdom also won five U.S. National Championships, as well as gold medals in the World Cup (1989), World University Games (1989), Pan-American Games (1983 and 1995), and World Indoor Championships (1989).
Kingdom graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and also holds a Masters degree in Sport Management from California University of Pennsylvania, a Division II school where he also served as the head cross-country and track coach during his ten years with the school. Since finishing his hurdling career, the 51-year old has also founded “Kingdom’s Elite,” a company dedicated to the development of speed training for all ages and athletic levels.
In March 2014, Kingdom’s love of football and speed training came full circle as he was hired as the assistant strength and conditioning coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
In his high hurdling heyday, Roger Kingdom was the baddest man on the planet. The Georgia native was drawn to the University of Pittsburgh on a football scholarship, but found more success on the Panther track team, earning two NCAA hurdle titles. According to the bio on his website,
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| Kingdom during his college days at Pitt |
Kingdom followed his gold medal performance of 1984 with another Olympic championship four years later in Seoul, South Korea. In the process, Kingdom became the first Olympian to eclipse the 13 second mark, with a 12.98. Three years later, he set the world record in his event, running a 12.92 at a meet in Zurich, Switzerland, a record that would stand for four years. Kingdom also won five U.S. National Championships, as well as gold medals in the World Cup (1989), World University Games (1989), Pan-American Games (1983 and 1995), and World Indoor Championships (1989).
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| Kingdom (c) with Buddy Morris (r), coaching mentor and head strength and conditioning coach for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals |
In March 2014, Kingdom’s love of football and speed training came full circle as he was hired as the assistant strength and conditioning coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
To read the full interview, please visit page 28 at Tracknation magazine, which can be found at this link: http://tracknation.com/trackside5/
(Above) Roger Kingdom winning the 1988 Olympic high hurdles in a then Games record time of 12.98.
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