Roger Kingdom (born August 26, 1962) is an American former sprint hurdler who was twice Olympic champion in the 110 meters. Kingdom set a world record of 12.92 in 1989. He is now an athletics coach and

strength and conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive Athlete, athletes or Sports club, athletic teams. This is achieved throug ...

who currently works as a speed and conditioning coach for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

of the NFL.

Early life and athletics

Born in

Vienna, Georgia The city of Vienna () is the county seat of Dooly County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,928 in 2020. Vienna is situated on the Flint River. It was established as Berrien in 1826. In 1833, its name was changed to Drayton. In 1841 ...

, an

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

of note Kingdom excelled at the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

and discus in his formative years as well as being a noteworthy

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. He attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

originally on a football scholarship but excelled on the school's track team winning the NCAA outdoor national championship in the 110 meter hurdles in 1983 and the NCAA indoor national championship in the 55 meter hurdles in 1984. He had a long and distinguished career on the track in the 110 meter high hurdles, winning his first Olympic

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. In 1988, he was unbeaten all season and was the favorite to retain his Olympic title in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. In a stunning display of technique, power, and speed, he won by three meters, becoming the first man to run below the 13 second barrier in an Olympic final, running 12.98s. This record stood until 1996 when Allen Johnson broke it at the Atlanta Games. Kingdom is only the second athlete to have successfully defended his 110 m hurdle Olympic title, after

Lee Calhoun Lee Quincy Calhoun (February 23, 1933 – June 21, 1989) was an American athlete, a double winner of 110 m hurdles at the Olympic Games. Biography Born in Laurel, Mississippi, Lee Calhoun graduated from Roosevelt High School in Gary, Indiana ...

, who won the gold medal in both 1956 and 1960. Kingdom set a 110 m high hurdles

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

of 12.92 seconds in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1989. This stood until August 20, 1993 when it was beaten by 1/100 of a second by

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became w ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, a subsequent record that stood for 13 years. His progress was hampered some in 1991 when he underwent

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

to repair ACL damage and remove bone chips from his

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

. He returned to competition to win the gold medal in the

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

and the bronze medal in the

World Championships in Athletics. Kingdom retired from active athletic competition in 1999. In 2006, Kingdom was inducted into th
Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
He was inducted along with NFL's Bap Manzini and MLB's Jim Russell. In 2018, Kingdom was included in the inaugural class of the University of Pittsburg
Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame

Coaching

Kingdom joined the California University of Pennsylvania's athletics staff as an assistant

Track & Field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

and Cross Country coach in 2004. He then became the director of both teams in 2006. On March 6, 2014, Kingdom was hired as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the NFL's

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. Kingdom worked with head strength and conditioning coac
Buddy Morris
his own strength coach at the University of Pittsburgh, and focused on improving the team's speed. Kingdom then spent the 2018 season as the Interim Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

In 2019, Kingdom returned to the NFL as the speed and conditioning coach of the

. In Tampa, he again worked under head coach Bruce Arians, who was the Cardinals' head coach during Kingdom's tenure in Arizona. In 2021, Kingdom won a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

title in

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

Personal life

Kingdom is a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity. He currently resides in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

with his wife, Mary. They have three daughters: Jierra, Cierra and Carina.

Achievements

''(110 m hurdles unless stated)'' *1983 **1983 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship ***collegiate national champion, 13.53 sec. **1983 Pan American Games -

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

***gold medal 13.44 seconds *1984 **1984 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship ***55m hurdles collegiate national champion, 7.08 sec **

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

***gold medal 13.20 sec. *1988 **

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

***gold medal 12.98 sec. *1989 ** 1989 IAAF World Cup -

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

***gold medal 12.87 sec. Wind Aided ** 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships -

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

***60 m hurdles gold medal 7.43 sec. *1990 **

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, USA ***gold medal 13.47 sec. *1995 **

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi, Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

***bronze medal 13.19 sec.

Awards

* World Athletics Awards :: World Athlete of the Year (Men)：1989

References

External links

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

Roger Kingdom highlights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom, Roger 1962 births Living people People from Vienna, Georgia Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania American male hurdlers African-American track and field athletes Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1995 Pan American Games World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists Pittsburgh Panthers men's track and field athletes Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) University of Pittsburgh alumni Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States IAAF World Athlete of the Year World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners