Men’s 110 Hurdles: A Change of LaGarde
The men’s 110m high hurdles seems to be an event that stays in a constant state of flux. While Americans have historically dominated the event, the modern era has seen many hurdlers from other countries challenge and in some cases usurp the Americans’ supremacy. Once Allen Johnson began to grow old around 2004, the top 110 hurdlers throughout much of the first decade of this century were Liu Xiang of China and Dayron Robles of Cuba. When Xiang and Robles started to have their issues with injury and politics, the Americans returned to prominence once again.
David Oliver had a season for the ages in 2010. Then Jason Richardson won the World Championship in 2011. Then Aries Merritt had arguably the best season ever for a 110 hurdler in 2012, earning an Olympic gold medal and smashing the previous world record. Richardson earned a silver in those 2012 Games. Then in 2013 old-schoolers Oliver and Ryan Wilson finished 1-2 at the World Championships. So that was four different athletes earning the four top medals over a two-year period. Very impressive.
But how ironic it is that a “down” year with no major championship can serve as a time when new stars emerge – stars who pose a serious threat to the recent American dominance as we look ahead to another World Championship year in 2015? In this article I will take a look back at the 2014 campaign and discuss some of these new rising stars and what may be expected of them as we move forward.
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Big Dogs
Chief among the young bloods in Pascal Martinot-Lagarde of France. At the age of 22 (he turns 23 on September 22), Martinot-Lagarde burst onto the scene in a big way after showing signs of promise in 2013. The Diamond League champion had the second fastest time in the world this year with his 12.95 in Monaco in July. He had five of the ten fastest times of the season, all under 13.10. In all, he pretty much asserted himself as the best high hurdler in the world. While he wasn’t the only one to establish himself as a serious major championship contender in the future, none of the other hurdlers performed as well as consistently as he did. In short, he was on top of his game in 2014, and if he continues to improve, he could be on the path toward being one of the greatest ever.
Martinot-Lagarde, in orange, on his way to victory in Lausanne.
Second on the list of rising stars would be Orlando Ortega of Cuba, who is a mere two months older than Martinot-Lagarde. Ortega has been making noise for a couple years now, but 2014 was definitely his break-out year. With rare exceptions, it seems that 21-23 is the age range in which high hurdlers start to really come into their own. Unlike their sprinting counterparts, and unlike female 100m hurdlers who don’t have to deal with a height adjustment, the male hurdlers need some time to adapt. Ortega and Martinot-Lagarde had some epic duels this summer. In Monaco on July 18, Martinot-Lagarde got the better of him, 12.95-13.01. In an indoor race in Poland on August 23, Ortega won, 13.03-13.06. Most recently in Brussels on September 5, Martinot-Lagarde won again, 13.08-13.13. With both athletes just now establishing themselves as world leaders, it seems quite possible that this duo could be dueling for many years to come.
Ortega exhibits excellent hurdling technique. That’s 2005 World Champ Ladji Doucoure beside him.
The third rising international star would be Hansle Parchment of Jamaica. No stranger to international competition, the 24-year-old won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games and entered 2014 with a personal best of 13.05. The oft-injured hurdler ran the fastest time of 2014, 12.94 at the Diamond League meet in Paris on July 3. There he defeated both Martinot-Lagarde and Ortega, who finished second and third respectively, in 13.05 and 13.10. But his only other race among the top-20 fastest of the year was a 13.14 at the Drake Relays way back on April 25th. So the major questions with Parchment, despite his immense talent and excellent hurdling skills, are can he stay healthy and can he stay consistent? If so, look for him to be a major player in 2015 and 2016.
Parchment (middle) on his way to victory over Ortega (left) and Martinot-Lagarde (right) in Paris.
Young Cats
Probably the biggest shocker of the 2014 season was American Devon Allen, who went from catching passes for the University of Oregon football team to becoming the top 110 collegiate hurdler in the NCAA, to winning the USA Outdoor Championships over the likes of major international stars Oliver, Merritt, Wilson, and Richardson. The 19-year-old knows no fear, and isn’t impressed by his opponents’ resumes. He claims football as his first love, so who knows if he’ll stick with the hurdles long-term or not? But he’s definitely got a decision to make. With a personal best of 13.16, the sky is the limit for this young cat.
Allen on his way to victory at USA Nationals over Jason Richardson (left) and Ryan Wilson (right).
Besides Allen, there is a crop of young collegiate hurdlers who are making the transition to professionalism. This group includes Aleec Harris of the US (13.14), Wayne Davis II of Trinidad (13.20), and Spencer Adams of the US (13.33). Then there’s Wenjun Xie of China (13.23), and 2012 World Junior Champ Yordan L. O’Farrill of Cuba (who sports a personal best of 13.19 over the 42’s). Any and all of these athletes could make some serious noise in the next couple years, so be on the look-out for them.
Old Dogs
Besides the Americans I’ve already mentioned, there are several other established veterans who shouldn’t be counted out next year or in 2016. Among them I would include American Ronnie Ash, who is a monster hurdler when he’s healthy and on top of his game. His 12.99 in the semis of the USA Championships preluded what would’ve possibly been a sub-12.90 had he not crashed in the final while dominating the race.
There’s also Sergey Shubenkov of Russia, who is actually a couple months younger than Parchment, but who has been much more consistent and is always a threat to medal at major meets.
Then there’s William Sharman of Great Britain, who ran 13.16 this year at the age of 29. Andrew Riley of Jamaica ran 13.19 in finishing fifth in Monaco. And Dayron Robles managed to get down to 13.29; even though he looks nothing like the old Dayron, I wouldn’t count out the possibility of him getting himself together and making a medal run in 2015. This year might’ve just been the warm-up, a chance to get back in the flow and get his rhythm back. Trust me, I’m not counting out Robles.
As for the Americans who dominated in 2012-2013, I like Oliver’s chances the best of coming back and earning a place on the WC medal stand in 2015. He has a history of coming back strong after sub-par years, and even though he’s getting up there in age (he’ll be 33 during the outdoor season next year), the warrior spirit still burns within him, and he takes excellent care of his body, so I think he’ll contend.
Wilson, who turns 34 in December, may still have enough left to contend, but it’ll be difficult. Unlike Oliver, Richardson, and Merritt, he’s never run under 13.00, and while the same can be said of Ortega, it’s reasonable to expect that Ortega is moving in that direction, whereas Wilson has most likely already run his lifetime best. I’m assuming that the fastest hurdlers in the world next year and in 2016 will be under 13-flat, which would make Wilson a long shot to contend.
Merritt remains an enigma. The 2012 Merritt was an absolute hurdling machine, but we haven’t seen that Merritt since, or anything near that level really. Is he done? Or is he chillin’, gearing up for another big run? It’s hard to tell.
Richardson seems to have lost confidence, and he’s definitely lost his swagger. In some races this summer he’s just looked out of it from the start. Hard to tell what’s going on there. Hopefully, in the cases of Richardson and Merritt, we’re just witnessing a case of the off-year blues. We’ll see.
Huh? What’s that? You heard Liu Xiang’s making a comeback? Man, I wish….
Final Thoughts
Of all the young hurdlers on the come-up, I like Martinot-Lagarde the best, without a doubt. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s durable, and he negotiates the space between the hurdles quite deftly for someone his size. If you’re talking strictly in terms of technique, then Ortega is my guy. He keeps everything in a tight box, his lead arm is very quick and efficient, and both his legs cycle with no pauses.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out. What we know for sure is that all this competition from so many hurdlers from so many countries can only be good for the event.
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