A New World Record
One July 22nd, in the second of two races at a Diamond League meet in England, less than two weeks after a heartbreaking disappointment at the US Olympic Trials, Kendra Harrison broke the world record in the women’s 100 meter hurdles. Her 12.20 in the final eclipsed the mark of Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria dating all the way back to 1988. After a great start in which she had a slight lead over Brianna Rollins in the lane to the right of her, Harrison went on to run a clean race, hitting no hurdles, maintaining a quick cadence between the hurdles, and very efficient clearance over the top.
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It was a race of redemption, you could say. As discussed in last month’s issue, Harrison admitted that the pressure of being a star figure at the Trials got to her. The semi-final in the rain threw off her confidence. She ran a sloppy race but made it into the finals, then went into the finals a couple hours later with the mindset of wanting to just make the team. And we all know that once you start counting the number of people you have to beat to make it, you lose your competitive edge.
In interviews afterward, Harrison owned up to the fact that she had cracked mentally, and vowed to make up for her mistake by going after the world record. With no Olympic Games to look forward to, a world record would be the only way to salvage a lost season – one that had been a season for the ages up to that point, especially after breaking the American record in June. On social media, a lot of people were calling her a choker, saying that she couldn’t handle the big meets. Distraught and discouraged, Harrison trusted her coach, Eldrick Floreal, to get her back on her feet and to restore her confidence.
Floreal had her do a demanding workout the day after the final, and that workout served to remind her that she “could still do this.” It took her away from feeling sorry for herself and helped her to rededicate herself to running faster and going for the Diamond League championship. In a phone conversation with her she mentioned to me that “people are assuming that my season is over because I didn’t make the Olympic team. But my season isn’t over.”
In England, she ran an easy 12.40 in the first round, which was an indication of what was to come. In earlier meets this season, she had run very fast and felt very comfortable doing so. At the Trials, the races were a struggle. Heading into the final, she knew she was ready to do something special. She was back to thinking in terms of dominating, not just being in the hunt. With Rollins beside her, and Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin also in the race (both of whom made the Olympic team), Harrison had a chance to prove to herself that she was the best of the field, that she would’ve been on the Olympic team if she had just gone ahead and executed her race the way she knew she was capable of.
Getting out quickly and getting to the first hurdle first allowed her to put the pressure on her opponents. Rollins hit the first hurdle hard and was running from behind the rest of the way, causing her to press and to hit more hurdles. Jasmine Stowers also hit a hurdle and bailed out of the race. Despite all the noise, Harrison stayed focused, stayed in the middle of her lane, and sprinted all the way through the finish line, adding a deep lean even though she was well ahead.
At first the automatic timing scoreboard showed a time of 12.58. So Harrison was rather subdued in her celebration, having apparently run slower than she had in the semis. But the 12.58 was the second-place time. When Ali pointed out to Harrison that the time on the board had changed, Harrison turned around and saw the 12.20 and buried her face in her hands, overcome with emotion.
While the world record does not diminish the disappointment of not making the team, and will not quiet the doubters who don’t think she can come up big “when it counts,” it is enormously gratifying for her to have picked herself up from such a rock-bottom moment. It takes a lot of courage to keep marching forward after falling apart on a national stage, to say “my season is not over,” and to make good on a promise to herself to break the world record. I told her as much when I talked to her a few days later. When we see superstar athletes perform, we often forget that they’re people, that they’re fragile, that they can fall apart. We focus so much on the talent that we forget it’s a human being doing those amazing things. In Keni’s case, it was a growth experience. She went into the race in England angry. Angry at herself. Angry at her doubters. Angry at all the people who didn’t even know her yet felt they had the right to talk about her. Her anger fueled her, freed her from the over-self-consciousness that plagued her at the Trials.
After she set the world record, many track people, and even non-track people like the clowns on ESPN’s Around the Horn were arguing that Harrison should be allowed to compete at the Olympic Games. The argument was that as the current world record holder, she should be allowed to run. If the US wanted their best to compete, she should be there. The fact that Jamaica’s Usain Bolt would be going to the Games despite pulling out with injuries at his country’s trials didn’t help matters. It made the US system seem comparatively flawed.
And while we could argue the pros and cons of the US Trials system (I like it, but don’t think it’s flawless), the fact of the matter is she knew going into the meet that she had to finish in the top three. And since she didn’t finish in the top three, she shouldn’t be allowed to go. When asked about it, she said as much herself. Personally, I would rather she learn the lessons she learned that get in based on some loophole. The three women who finished in the top three are the ones who should be representing the country.
So what do I think Harrison is capable of by season’s end? As I’ve stated before, world class hurdlers generally drop about .3 from their season opener to their season’s best. That would put Harrison at 12.14. I think she’ll go that fast. She has three more meets left after the Olympics, which should give her enough opportunity to get race-sharp again and drop her personal best a little further.
What’s on deck for next year? For 2017, Harrison is contemplating focusing on the 400 hurdles and trying to make the World Championship team in that event. If she wins the Diamond League championship this year in the 100 hurdles, she’ll have a free pass to Worlds in that event. Which could lead to an attempt at a double at Worlds, if the schedule allows. See the article “Hurdle Doubling” in this issue for more discussion on that topic.
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