Dedy Cooper (born May 22, 1956) is a retired American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete, known for specializing in the hurdles.

Early life

While running for

Harry Ells High School Harry Ells High School in Richmond, California was a major public high school serving the community from 1955 to 1985 with a gap of 3 years (1967–70) when it served as the temporary South campus of Richmond High School. It was named for Harry ...

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

, Cooper led his team to the team title at the 1975

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

. In the process, Cooper tied the National High School record in the 120 yard hurdles at 13.2 in the semi-finals. That record was later surpassed by Nehemiah, which remains the record. Running for

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

, he was the 1976 NCAA Outdoor Champion.

Athletics

He held the world indoor record in the 60 meter high hurdles at 7.54, set in 1977. He was ranked in the top 10 in the world in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...

six years in a row starting in 1976, rising to number 3 in the world in 1981. He qualified for the ill-fated United States Olympic team in 1980 by finishing second to

Renaldo Nehemiah Renaldo Nehemiah (born March 24, 1959) is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in the 110 m hurdles. He was ranked number one in the world for four straight years, and is a former world record holder. Nehemiah is the first m ...

in the United States Olympic Trials, but did not get to run in the Olympics due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

. He did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes.

References

1956 births Living people American male hurdlers San Jose State Spartans men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from San Jose, California Sportspeople from Richmond, California Congressional Gold Medal recipients {{US-hurdles-athletics-bio-stub