Sprint hurdles
I love sprint hurdles – the skill, the speed and the fact that disaster is always only a tiny error away. That the Meeting de Paris had 6 hurdle races was wonderful. Men’s and women’s, semi- and finals.
Women
The sad news before we started was that due to a hamstring alert during warm-up, Cyréna Samba-Mayela, the local hero, had to withdraw. Ditaji Kambundji was another non-starter; no reason given. Fastest in the prelims was Tobi Amusen 12.39. Three from each prelim, with two qualifying on time, gave us eight for the final. Six athletes were in the 12.5s. 12.53 made the final; anything slower did not. Keni Harrison, former world champion, and Devynne Charlton, World Indoor champion, did not.
The result of the final was:
1 Tobi Amusen 12.28
2 Grace Stark 12.38
3 Alaysha Johnson 12.39
Amusen commented: “I do not like the warm weather at all, but whatever the weather, I was going to come out here and kill it – execution was alright. I am just top being injury-free.
“The pressure does not get to me. I am never worried about pressure on the night. My approach to the hurdles varies. Sometimes you think about what has just happened. On other days, it is really sloppy, and still comes out and runs past a time. I try to take a shot at every race. I´ll be competing at Pre next, and then it’s yet to be decided where to race after that”.
Men
The fastest qualifier in the men’s race was Trey Cunningham 13.06 with the cut-off at 13.30.
The result of the final was:
1 Jamal Britt 12.89 PR
2 Shunsuke Izumiya 13.01
3 Trey Cunningham 13.07
Michael Obasuyi set two Belgian national records, finishing with 13.10 in the final but finishing fourth! He commented: “After last week in Ostrava and Hengelo, my coach and I came into this race with a lot of confidence. I knew a lot was possible today, so after my 13.16 NR in the heats, I wasn’t really celebrating. And now, it was a very good race and form, but I think that if everything goes well, not only is more possible, but I can repeat those times on a more regular basis. And that would be a good thing with the eye on the championships. Last year was difficult because I was constantly running with pain in my Achilles tendons. This winter, I lacked confidence on the starting line, but with the new spikes, I no longer have any pain. There is definitely much more to come. I have a lot of respect for the other European hurdlers; there are many who can go 13.0, but I will go to Birmingham for the European Championships with the medal in my head, and after today’s race I can start dreaming about the Ultimate Championships too”.
