Men’s 110 hurdles
The men’s sprint hurdles promised so much. The new world record holder, Ja’Kobe Tharp, was one of four athletes to have clocked a sub-13, three of them this season. In Brussels in 2012, Aries Merritt ran 12.80, the then world record.
To add to the drama, there was a faulty start – with an athlete left in his blocks. Sensibly, the starter called them all back. Tharp said of the incident: “Yeah, I thought I heard the gun go off, but I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t go. And I saw everybody jump out of the box, and they called us back, so it was fine, and then I just refocused and handled business.
At the press conference the previous day, Tharp – just 20, who had set his world record (12.75) at the NCAA Championships, admitted that the record had surprised him: “I just wanted to win the title there. That world record wasn’t a goal. I thought ‘it will be later in my career’ – but right now it was just a bonus, the cherry on the cake”.
He said that he had watched the video of Merritt’s world record countless times and had met him at the NCAA when he “whispered some advice in my ear”. Asked about his first season on the elite circuit, he said: “Above all, I’m delighted that I’m having a very consistent first professional season. I want to show people who I am, especially when it really counts. And that’s certainly the case for the Wanda Diamond League final. I’ll try to shift up a gear, level up there. I’m really looking forward to the Brussels race. It’s all about trophies and medals – they’re for life. Records are there to be broken. I’m not suffering from fatigue. I train to be ready for every race, even late in the season” . He added: “my group is full of world-class athletes, and we train each other with each other every day, so it’s definitely pushing everybody to go to the next level”.
Asked how he would have reacted had he been told how his season would go, he replied: “I would definitely be a little surprised, but I’d be like, ‘OK, because I mean, I know I worked super hard back at home’. Yet it’s super crazy”.
The race finished:
1 Ja’Kobe Tharp 13.03
2 Jamal Britt 13.09
3 Trey Cunningham 13.22
The other sub-13 man, Cordell Tinch, unfortunately hit a hurdle and did not finish.
Of his performance Tharp said: “I was able to come out here, run a pretty decent time, get a win so it’s truly a blessing”. He admitted that his race execution “wasn’t the best. I hit a hurdle halfway through. I started rushing a little bit, then I kind of got myself composed at the end. But a win is a win, so I really can’t complain”.
He said that being the world-record holder enabled him to “go out there and produce that time when need be. So definitely a whole lot of confidence going into these next couple of weeks. But I mean, it’s not going to be 12.75 every time I step on the track but so as long as I win, I’m fine”.
He now heads to the Ultimate confident but not arrogant: “I mean for sure they’re going to come with their A game, they’re going to up it a little bit, so I’m going to have to do the same”.
Ja’Kobe Tharp has great athletic talent, but he strikes me as a young man who handles his challenges well, with the right amount of confidence tempered by realism.
