Track and Field : Nehemiah Wins in Italy in Hurdling Comeback

Renaldo Nehemiah made a strong comeback Wednesday after a four-year absence from track, winning the 110-meter high hurdles in 13.48 seconds.

Nehemiah, 27, who holds the world record of 12.93, got off to a slow start but showed flashes of his old form in the second half of the race, winning easily.

The American star beat countryman Keith Talley, who had set a personal best of 13.31 in July and was considered a strong test for Nehemiah.

Nehemiah had not competed since 1982, when he signed a lucrative contract with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Under rules of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the world ruling body of track and field, Nehemiah was barred from the sport because he was a professional.

But after years of legal battles, the IAAF recently gave Nehemiah permission to run, if he gave up pro football.

“I felt in good shape,” Nehemiah said. “I was ready for the comeback, but I missed the special pressure and confidence you can only get from competition.

“A couple of more tuneup races and I’ll be ready for the big guns.”

Nehemiah showed some uneasiness over the first two hurdles but ran the rest of the race smoothly. At the finish, he was several steps ahead of Talley, who was timed in 13.68.

“It was the toughest race of my life,” Nehemiah said. “I used to be cool before the start, but tonight I was extremely tense and nervous. Every hurdle was a great pain, and I had the impression I couldn’t make it, but my time was extremely rewarding.”

Nehemiah said he was very happy and ready to forget all the difficulties of the past.

Nehemiah, the only hurdler to have broken the 13-second barrier, said this would be a year of transition. But he has set as his goals the winning of gold medals in the 1987 World Championships at Rome and in the 1988 Olympics at Seoul, South Korea.

Two U.S. sprinters were among the other leading performers in Wednesday’s meet.

Evelyn Ashford won the women’s 200 meters in 22.17, her fastest time this year, and world record-holder Calvin Smith took the men’s 100 meters in 10.26.

The only other top performance of the meet was by 1984 Olympic champion Alessandro Andrei of Italy in the men’s shotput. Andrei won with a heave of 72 feet 4 1/2 inches, the sixth best performance in history.