By David Martin, PA Sport

Winning an Olympic gold medal has to be the dream of any athlete - but the extra icing on the celebratory cake for David Hemery was he achieved his resounding success in world record time.

Hemery, born in Britain but raised in the United States, fulfilled his ambition of becoming Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion at the 1968 Games held in the rarefied air of Mexico City, 7000 metres above sea level.

It was to be the only British victory.

Now president of UK Athletics, Hemery will never forget that momentous October evening almost 32 years ago when flogging his aching body over the 10th and last of the three feet high hurdles in an event still considered to be the toughest in the track and field programme.

A vintage time of 48.1 seconds (converted to 48.12 when electric timing was introduced), destroyed the previous world record of 48.8sec held by Geoff Vanderstock.

Although sharing the same hand-timed 49.0sec performance of German runner-up Gerhard Hennige and the amazing run by Sheffield's John Sherwood, the American was denied a medal on a glorious night for British 400m hurdling.

Born in Cirencester on July 18 1944, Hemery moved with his family to the United States aged 12.

His formative years at Massachusetts High School set the scene for learning basic athletics skills.

Moving to Boston University in 1964, he thrived on the competitive US College circuit where top American stars competed weekly representing their alma maters.

No one can dispute what was an enriching experience for him.

Racing against some of the world's elite one lap hurdlers at this level contributed significantly to Hemery's Mexico success where he and Sherwood - co-holders of the Commonwealth and British records with times of 49.3sec - were the slowest qualifiers for the eight man final after coasting through their heats and semi-finals.

But Hemery, who for months previously in his dreams had raced and considered every possible scenario of how the contest might shape up, produced one of the most explosive victories ever witnessed at this level.

Indeed, when emulating the 1928 last British winner feat of the ebullient Lord Burghley, the Anglo-American triumphed by the huge distance of seven metres, the largest winning margin for 44 years.

A highly intelligent man and coached by legendary Fred Housden and the American Billy Smith, Hemery put to full use the benefit of the blood, sweat and tears his English adviser had got out of him undergo during the most physical winter's training he ever undertook.

Even today the efforts Hemery expended in his burning desire to become an Olympic champion would make the hardiest of distance runners wince, such was its intensity on the punishing circuit of hills and sand dunes which was his daily diet.

Yet Hemery, a thinking man with a lucid brain, knew pure brute strength nurtured with the technical skills required for an event nicknamed the "man-killer" was a necessity if he was to gain an advantage over his faster, and in most cases, more experienced opponents.

Hemery was always confident he could win although he also reminded himself daily that was his only intention after the subjective training he had subscribed to in the build-up to the Games. Finishing second or lower did not figure in his massive 1.86m/75kg frame.

In the final, drawn in lane six ahead of the deaf Russian Vyacheslav Skoromokhov with America's Olympic record holder Ron Whitney and Sherwood occupying the outside lanes, Hemery blasted out of his blocks.

Pulled through the half distance by Sherwood in 23sec, Hemery said: "I felt okay once I'd started and five or six strides out I felt I had built up a good momentum.

"At the sixth hurdle I changed from 13 to 15 strides and from there I had to push, though I tried to relax so I wouldn't tie up in the straight."

In the final 100 metres he was out on his own, effectively running blind after passing Sherwood and unaware that Hennige, Vanderstock and Skonorokhov were losing their battle to stay in touch and effectively fighting it out along with his team-mate for the minor medals.

"I heard a flash when I was coming to hurdle eight and it gave me an extra shot of adrenaline because I'd been running blind for 100 metres.

"There was a thought coming into that hurdle 'I'm tired', a natural thought at 300 metres and the slight thought 'should I slow down'.

"Instantly a message came back 'you can't do that - it's the Olympic final'.

"That thought combined with the adrenaline was enough to keep the leg speed to hurdles nine and 10.

"I remember not being able to sprint from the last hurdle - I was striding as fast as I could and frustrated that I couldn't feel I was sprinting.

"I remember landing over the 10th hurdle and realising I had forgotten to go at it like the first.

"The whole year culminating in the Olympic win is something I treasure as a high point because of the integration of my body spirit. Everything was in alignment."

Hemery was relegated to bronze medal position at the Munich Games where he also completed a set of Olympic medals when winning silver in the 4x400 relay.

Retirement immediately followed, although he made a brief foray on the professional circuit in 1975.