Nehemiah was nicknamed "Skeets" as a baby because he crawled along the floor so fast. The nickname followed him. He was the national junior champion in 1977, the same year he graduated from
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in his hometown of
Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Nehemiah's high school personal bests were 12.9 in the 110 meter hurdles and 35.8 in the 300 meter hurdles, so much faster than his competitors that his coach had him compete over 42 inch hurdles (collegiate height) and occasionally train over 45 inch hurdles. He was
Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1977. The cover was noted for showing Nehemiah in a reflective mood rather than in action as most other
T&FN covers. "I always look spaced out at meets, sort of nonchalant," Nehemiah told
The New York Times in response. At the 1979
Penn Relays, Nehemiah anchored UMD's shuttle hurdle relay,
4 × 400 meter relay, and
4 × 200 meter relay, and was named meet MVP. At the 1981
Weltklasse meeting in
Zürich, Switzerland, Nehemiah broke the world record for the 110 meter hurdles and became the first person to ever run the race in less than 13 seconds. In an interview, Nehemiah explained his race as less than ideal:
Pat Connolly, who also coached sprinter
Evelyn Ashford, was instrumental in reviving Nehemiah's track career after his short foray in football. Connolly is quoted as saying: She also believed he may have been better suited for the 400 m hurdle event. She is on record as saying: Nehemiah won the British
AAA Championships title in the 100 metres hurdles event at the
1981 AAA Championships.
Track records As of 15 September 2024, Nehemiah holds the following track records for 110 metres hurdles. ==Football career==