Kingdom Sets Record in Hurdles : His 12.92 at Zurich Tops World Mark by Nehemiah in ’81

Roger Kingdom eclipsed the mark he thought would be so difficult to reach, setting a world record in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 12.92 seconds Wednesday during a track and field meet at Zurich, Switzerland.

Kingdom, a two-time Olympic champion, broke Renaldo Nehemiah’s mark set on the same track on Aug. 19, 1981, by one-hundredth of a second. Nehemiah had been scheduled to compete Wednesday but withdrew in a disagreement over appearance fees.

“I never thought it would happen, but I’m glad it did,” Kingdom told reporters in Zurich. “I’m glad I put the start together with the finish. I was second or third out of the blocks, and after the third hurdle, I made sure no one caught me.”

Although Kingdom had a quick start on the hot evening at the Weltklasse meet, he did not take a commanding lead until the eighth hurdle.

Britain’s Colin Jackson, the silver medalist in last year’s Seoul Olympics, led early but finished second in 13.12, one-hundredth of a second off his European record.

Ontario’s Tonie Campbell, the bronze medalist in the 1988 Games, was third in 13.23. Two-time world champion Greg Foster of Chino Hills finished fifth in 13.26, behind fellow American Jack Pierce in 13.24. Foster, who is coming back this season after breaking an arm a second time, hugged Kingdom after the race.

“This is the toughest field I’ve ever faced,” said Kingdom, 26, who leaped into the air after seeing his time.

“Nehemiah was my idol. I followed him through high school and hated it when he went to play football.”

Nehemiah, who watched the race, said in a telephone interview from Zurich: “I didn’t take my record being broken as hard as I thought I would. I’m very happy for Roger. He is the best hurdler in the world. It’s only fitting he should have it all at this point.”

Nehemiah, who became a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers before returning to track in 1986, said he is happy with his performances this season and decided to skip the meet when promoter Andreas Brugger offered him $4,000 to compete.

Nehemiah said Kingdom was offered $5,000, plus bonuses. Shortly before the race, promoters offered Nehemiah $5,000 but without a bonus incentive.

“I couldn’t understand the logic behind it,” Nehemiah said. “They offered me $4,000 last year and I wasn’t running nearly as fast as this year. I considered it an insult.”

Nehemiah also said he was protesting the lack of respect his event receives, saying hurdlers should earn as much as 100-meter sprinters.

“How fast does a hurdler have to run to command that mutual respect across the board?” he asked. “It really doesn’t matter how fast we run. There isn’t a whole lot of respect for hurdle events in track and field today. I had to take a stand.”

Brugger could not be reached for comment.

Campbell, who finished fifth with a time of 13.51 when Nehemiah set the record in 1981, said that Wednesday’s race was much more difficult than the one eight years ago.

“It was an incredible race,” he said by phone. “Roger ran a perfect race for him. He didn’t hit many hurdles. He got a great start. He was right up there with us from the very first hurdle.

“There was no wind . . . the conditions were perfect. But the track was not as fast as it could have been; it was a mushy track. We didn’t just happen to luck upon a fast track. It was a great effort by all.”

Campbell said he was too busy racing to watch the record being set, as he had in 1981 when Nehemiah took control from the start and left the competition behind.

Campbell said Kingdom did not have the race won until the eighth hurdle.

“Then there was no catching him at that point,” Campbell said.

Carl Lewis and Butch Reynolds also had fine performances Wednesday.

Lewis, who beat world record-holder Ben Johnson of Canada at Zurich last year, won the 100 meters in 10.09, defeating fellow Americans Dennis Mitchell, who ran a 10.14; 1989 U.S. champion Leroy Burrell, 10.19, and Andre Cason, 10.19.

Reynolds, who broke the 20-year-old world record of 43.29 for the 400 meters in last year’s meet, won in 44.31, slightly off this year’s best of 44.27 by Antonio Pettigrew.

Reynolds, the Olympic silver medalist, edged bronze medalist Danny Everett, who was timed in 44.36.

Kenyan Paul Ereng, the Olympic 800-meter champion, won his event in 1:43.16, the fastest time in the world this year.

Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor, the only man to clear 8 feet in the high jump, was beaten by former world record-holder Patrik Sjoberg of Sweden.

Sjoberg cleared 7 feet 8 3/4 inches, Sotomayor 7-8. Hollis Conway, the U.S. record-holder, finished third at 7-7.

Werner Guenthoer, the Olympic bronze medalist, out-dueled Randy Barnes of the United States, the silver medalist at the Seoul Games, in the shot put. Guenthoer won with a put of 71-7 1/2 to Barnes’ 71-2 3/4.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe, running his last race at Zurich before retiring, was second in the 1,500 meters in 3:34.05, behind Wilfred Kirochi of Kenya (3:33.85).

Olympic champion John Ngugi of Kenya finished third in the 5,000 meters in 13:25.50, as Morocco’s Said Aouita, the world record-holder, won in 13:24.45 and Portugal’s Domingo Castro was second in 13:25.08.

MEN’S 110-METER HIGH HURDLES WORLD RECORD PROGRESSION

MARK NAME COUNTRY YEAR 13.56 Martin Lauer West Germany 1959 13.43 Earl McCullouch United States 1967 13.24 Rod Milburn United States 1972 13.21 Alejandro Casanas Cuba 1977 13.16 Renaldo Nehemiah United States 1979 13.00 Renaldo Nehemiah United States 1979 12.93 Renaldo Nehamiah United States 1981 12.92 Roger Kingdom United States 1989

ALL-TIME LIST

MARK NAME COUNTRY YEAR 12.92 Roger Kingdom United States 1989 12.93 Renaldo Nehemiah United States 1981 13.03 Greg Foster United States 1981 13.11 Colin Jackson Britain 1988 13.17 Sam Turner United States 1983 13.17 Mark McKoy Canada 1988 13.17 Tonie Campbell United States 1988 13.20 Stephane Caristan France 1986 13.20 Aleksander Markin USSR 1988 13.21 Alejandro Casanas Cuba 1977 13.21 Vladimir Shishkin USSR 1988 13.24 Rod Milburn United States 1972 13.24 Arthur Blake United States 1988 13.24 Jack Pierce United States 1989 13.25 Andre Phillips United States 1985