Liu vs. Trammell, Reebok 2007
For this month’s great race, we’re going to take a look back at the 2007 Reebok Grand Prix men’s 110 meter hurdle final, in which Liu Xiang narrowly defeated Terrence Trammell in an epic battle. Many big names were in that race, even if they hadn’t all peaked yet at the time. Dominique Arnold would have been in it, but was disqualified for a false start. Future World Championships silver medalist Ryan Wilson finished third. Also in the race were Anwar Moore, future World Championships gold medalist David Oliver, future Olympic champion and world record holder Aries Merritt, and David Payne.
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I remember this race vividly because of how the battle between Liu and Trammell played out, and of how the athletes I was coaching at the time (Johnny Dutch, Wayne Davis II, Booker Nunley) had their minds blown by Liu’s late-race comeback.
Liu and Trammell represented two schools of thought when it comes to hurdling. Liu represented technically precise, mistake-free hurdling. Trammell represented insane sprint speed and exceptional power. Boasting a 100 meter dash personal best in the 10.00 range, Trammell was that rare hurdler who could truly sprint with the world’s best sprinters, and often did. Being the purist that I was, I predicted that Liu would win, because of my belief that, all else being relatively equal, the hurdler who makes the least mistakes will win. My athletes, meanwhile, felt confident that Trammell held the edge over Liu because of his ridiculously fast start and his exceptional sprint speed.
When the gun sounded, Trammell took off as if he had been shot out of a cannon. I’d have to think long and hard to recall a time when I’ve ever seen anyone get a better start. He opened up a wide margin on the rest of the field, including Liu. Over the first five hurdles, he absolutely dominated.
But then Liu started closing the gap. Over each of the last five hurdles, he closed the gap a little more, a little more, a little more. He touched down off hurdle ten just ever so slightly ahead of Trammell, and maintained that advantage through the finish line, claiming the victory in 12.92, only .03 ahead of Trammell’s equally stunning 12.95.
To me, this race, as much as any other, defined what made Liu great – the greatest hurdle technician who ever lived, in my estimation – his ability to run the whole race, to master the whole race. When you look at the slow motion replays, you can see how he was able to make up ground on Trammell, despite the fact that Trammell didn’t make any fatal mistakes.
To me, Trammell was a victim of his own style. Not just in this race, but throughout his whole career. Had he made some adjustments to his technique, he would’ve been the greatest hurdler who ever lived. He would’ve run 12.7 or 12.6. The man was a straight-up beast. But he had a style that was very effort-ful, and therefore very tiring, and therefore very difficult to execute over the course of a ten-hurdle race. My main issues with Trammell’s style were that his lead leg locked at the knee, and that he had a duck-down lean instead of a lean from the waist.
When you lock your lead leg at the knee during hurdle clearance, you have to unlock it on the way down. That’s an extra motion. Times ten. The duck-down lean creates a wider path to the front for the trail leg, causing the trail leg to be late and low the further the race goes on. That’s what happened in this race. Trammell’s air time increased. Liu’s didn’t. Trammell hit hurdles late in the race, Liu didn’t. Trammell’s increased air time and contact with the hurdles cost him moment[um. So all Liu had to do was keep doing what he was already doing. That’s what he did. That’s why he won.
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