byStuart WeirStuart Weir wrote this piece on the 100m hurdles. Stuart always finds something that we do not know. In this case, the fastest women in the world, Danielle Williams, had a nightmare in Jamaica.
100m hurdles, photo by Getty Images/British Athletics
The women’s 100m Hurdles involved 16 ladies in two heats leading into a final.
Among the big names eliminated in the heats were Christina Clemons, Queen Claye and Cindy Ofili – fourth in Rio but still struggling to get back to her 2016 form following a serious injury in 2017. Keni Harrison fourth in heat one qualified only as a fastest loser. World lead 2019, Danielle Williams, was fastest in the two heats with 12.53.
The line-up for the final included:
Danielle Williams – 2015 world champion and 2019 world lead
Keni Harrison – world record holder
Brianna McNeal – 2016 Olympic champion, 2013 world champion, 2018 Diamond League champion
Janeek Brown – US collegiate champion.
Nia Ali – 2016 Olympic silver
The winner was Danielle Williams (12.46), a little slower than her two PRs in London last month but two wins nonetheless. Keni Harrison was second (12.66) and Tobi Amusan (Nigeria) third.
100 m hurdles, photo by Getty Images/ British Athletes
The athletes on the podium commented as follows:
Danielle Williams “To be honest I didn’t execute that properly. I banged my knee on one of the hurdles but I came away with the win so I’m happy. It wasn’t that important to win, this is another race on the way to the Diamond League finals and whether I won or lost, execution was my only focus”.
Kendra Harrison (USA), “I struggled in the first round, but I was able to come back”
Tobi Amusan, “I clipped the last hurdle but it went OK today. I’m happy with where I am and continuing to take each competition at a time and I’m trusting the process”.
The event continues to be competitive with Danielle Williams surprising some people with her 2019 form. Another surprise is that defending DL champion, Brianna McNeal will not be in the final this year.
Despite being the fastest Jamaican at her event, Danielle Williams is in danger of being excluded from the World Championships because of the chaos which ensued at her national championship. This is Williams’ account of events: “What happened at the Jamaican championships was that in the final I false started – I personally don’t believe that I false started, so I asked to run under protest. I was denied that. A whole back and forth melee went on. They decided that they weren’t going to run the race at all. Then they issued a press release saying that they are going to choose the team based on rankings but that they would not select me at any time. So, we move on”.
Let’s hope a solution can be found.
