Keni 12.20
For this month’s great race, we’re going to take a look back at a performance that took place not too long ago – in July of 2016, when Kendra Harrison broke the long-standing world record in the women’s 100 meter hurdles with a time of 12.20. While this wasn’t one of the greatest races in the women’s 100 meter hurdles from a competitive standpoint, it was definitely one of the most heroic and courageous performances the sport of track and field has ever seen, considering the circumstances of Harrison’s season up to that point, as well as the flawlessness that she exhibited in the race itself.
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After opening her season with an easy 12.36 victory in the rain in Georgia, and then winning the Prefontaine meet in June with a sizzling 12.24, Harrison looked to be on her way to having a season for the ages. She was a heavy favorite to not only earn a spot on the Olympic team, but to win the 100 hurdles at the US Nationals, and then go on to claim gold at the Olympic Games in Rio.
But then she suffered an emotional meltdown at the US Olympic Trials. After cruising through the first round, she had to stand around in the rain waiting for her semi-final heat to begin, and that’s where she began to lose her mental edge. She struggled through that race, ran poorly by her own standards, but managed to finish second and qualify for the finals.
In the finals, her struggles continued. She got out of the blocks slowly, she hit several hurdles, and was zig-zagging all over the lane on the way to a sixth-place finish. The prohibitive gold medal favorite would not be going to the Olympics at all.
At this point all hope seemed lost, her season seemed lost, and all the potential for a season of the ages appeared to be washed down the drain.
In a phone conversation that I had with her later that week, she explained to me that her body had matured much faster than the rest of her had. She was able to run in the 12.2’s, but she wasn’t yet ready to handle all the pressures and expectations that come with being the fastest hurdler in the world. She recognized that if she had just gone out and done what she had always done, she would have easily made the Olympic team.
So instead of sulking and feeling sorry for herself, she told herself that since she wouldn’t be able to compete for a gold medal in Rio, she could chase after the world record instead. With her time at the Prefontaine meet being only .03 off the mark, it was definitely an achievable goal.
At the Trials she had run cautiously, afraid of making mistakes, counting the number of opponents she needed to beat to make the team. Two weeks later, in London, Harrison decided she was going to run “angry.” And as we all know, anger can be good fuel to feed the competitive fire of an athlete. In this case, her anger was not directed toward any of her opponents, even though she would face several of the women she had faced at Nationals. Instead, she directed her anger at herself for having let herself down at such a crucial meet.
From a technical standpoint, Harrison’s race is one of the best I’ve ever seen in the event, perhaps the very best. While American hurdlers have traditionally relied on speed and power to get them through races and to compete at the highest levels, Harrison’s technique, as displayed in this race, is on par with the likes of Sally Pearson and Susanna Kallur in their heyday. In my talks with her, especially in her 2015 season, I often pointed out to her that her trail leg tended to flatten out and lag behind late in races. It wasn’t keeping up with her speed between the hurdles and the speed of her lead leg.
But in this world record race, as well as in her American record race at the Pre meet, the trail leg is not a detriment. The way you can tell if the trail leg is functioning effectively is to watch from the head-on view. From that angle, you can see how much lateral movement occurs in the lane. In the world record race, Harrison has no lateral movement at all for the first seven hurdles, and then minimal lateral movement over the last three hurdles. For the entire race, as can be seen from the side angle, the trail leg knee is high and facing the front when the lead leg lands.
Meanwhile, low hurdle clearance is something that Harrison was emphasizing – and continues to emphasize – in her training. In this world record race, her shin is skimming each crossbar, and her lead leg remains at an angle in which it is always attacking the track, always on its way down. You’re not seeing the lead leg straighten out and then snap down; you’re seeing it cycle.
The second-place finisher, Brianna Rollins, who would later go on to win Olympic gold a month later, came in a distant second, in 12.58. Having just won the Trials, Rollins, I’m sure, wasn’t nearly as motivated as Harrison was to excel. Harrison had something to prove – to herself and to the world – whereas Rollins was just staying sharp in preparation for Rio. But still, part of what makes this performance so memorable is the fact that Harrison dominated such a strong field.
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