PHILADELPHIA -- Penn Relays announced Renaldo Nehemiah, '81, will serve as an honorary referee for this year's historic carnival. Nehemiah will share the honor with Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross this weekend at Franklin Field.
This years carnival marks 40 years since Nehemiah's historic performances that  led the Terps to victory in the shuttle hurdle relay, 4x200 meter and the 4x400 meter relays. Nehemiah's blazing 44.3 second anchor leg of the 4x400 meter relay made up a 20-meter deficit and pushed the Terps past Tennessee and Villanova with a time of 3:07.2. He was named Penn Relays MVP for the showing and was later added to the Penn Relays Wall of Fame.
Penn Relays tweeted their selections on Tuesday, April 24, referencing Nehemiah's "epic" performance at the 1979 carnival and Richard-Ross' impressive history at the meet.
In 1979, Nehemiah set the still-standing NCAA record in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.00. During his time as a Terp, he racked up three NCAA titles in the 60-meter high hurdles and the 110-meter high hurdles. Nehemiah is a five-time All-American and was the world record holder during his time as a student-athlete.
Nehemiah was the first person to ever break the 13-second barrier in the same event, running 12.93 in 1981.
He was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1997 and entered the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame the next year. The University of Maryland Alumni Association Hall of Fame named Nehemiah to the class of 2005.
The Terps will compete at the Penn Relays from Thursday, April 25, until Saturday, April 27.
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