Women's 100m Hurdles - FINAL

High hurdles seem to be cursed here in Beijing, the latest casualty being US champion and world season leader Lolo Jones who, reminiscent of a certain Gail Devers in Barcelona 1992, crashed into hurdle 9 while well ahead of the rest of the field.

With defending Olympic champion Joanna Hayes not present having failed to survive the US Olympic Trials, the Americans nevertheless managed to defend a title which has been theirs only three times previously.

This time around it was 24-year-old Dawn Harper who joins Hayes, Benita Fitzgerald-Brown (1984) and Babe Didricksen (1932-80m Hurdles) in the Olympic Games record books.

Based in Los Angeles and training with the likes of Hayes, 3-time World champion Devers and 2-time World champion Michelle Perry to name but a few, Harper is the latest of guru Bob Kersee’s protégés to make it to the top of the podium but her road to glory here in Beijing was far from smooth as she only secured a spot on the team by 7 thousands of a second!

From third at the Trials to Olympic champion, the 2003 Pan American champion timed it to perfection to clock a personal best 12.54, the only athlete in tonight’s final to actually improve on her best time.

For most of the race, focus was on the inside lanes as Australia’s national record holder Sally McLellan had an amazingly fast start in lane 3. Running immediately to her right, Jones was shocked by the former World Junior champion’s reaction and she found herself trailing up until hurdle 3.

Jones has been so fast this year that she had little difficulties recovering the lead just as fast as McLellan had blasted off the blocks. With them, World bronze medallist Delloreen Ennis-London was maintaining contact from lane 5, as was Harper in 6.

By the eighth hurdle Jones was digging so hard that she looked set to grab the gold medal most of the pundits had already put around her neck. Unfortunately for her she clipped the ninth barrier so hard she was totally thrown off her tempo. She did well to recover and finish the race but gold was already gone.

While all eyes were on Jones who took her shades off immediately past the finish line to kneel down, her face covered under her arms, it took a replay of the race on the screen board to actually notice Harper had won it by a full tenth of a second.

It wasn’t such an easy call for the minor medals as the next five athletes dipped towards the finish in what looked like a straight line from lane 3 all the way down to lane 9.

While the photo finish was being examined and athletes waited anxiously – Jones still on the floor her head down – the second replay showed McLellan looking over her right and venturing a little smile as she noticed that she was up in there with the very best.

But nothing was less sure. Eventually the scoreboard flashed the next five names contemporaneously revealing that only two hundredths of a second separated second from sixth. McLellan was given a nod in second, winning Australia’s first track medal of the Games with Canada’s Priscilla Lopes-Schliep in third. Both were timed at 12.64.

US Olympic Trials runner up Damu Cherry was credited with 12.65 good enough for fourth as Ennis-London and compatriot Brigitte Foster-Hylton shared the same time 12.66 respectively fifth and sixth.

Jones was seventh at 12.72.

Eventually Jones stood up and walked towards the mixed zone having to experience her nightmare again as her dramatic clip was showed again and again on the screen.

"You hit a hurdle about twice a year where it affects your race," said a very emotional Jones. "It's just a shame that it happened on the biggest race of my life.

"About the middle part of the race, the hurdles were just coming up very fast. It's kind of like a car. When you race in a car and you're going max velocity and you hit a curve, you either maintain control or you crash and burn and today I crashed and burned."

“I am shocked and sad. I did such an amazing job this year but in the hurdles you have to get over all ten. It’s very hard right now, it’ll be harder tomorrow.”

The winner commented on Jones: “certain people have to be the favourites but on the day they have to run their race. On the day it’s anyone’s race and I gave myself a chance.”

“Being the Olympic champion has always been a dream of mine. It’s so surreal, it’s so amazing. To have the world say that I am the Olympic champion, it’s so amazing.”

“Bobby (Kersee) said it to me a million times since coming into Beijing,” she added. “Focus on your body, focus on yourself. And that is just what I did.”

“After the semis, he said to me ‘you’re on that podium, the colour of the medal is up to you.’ And for him to say such things, it’s great motivation as obviously he knows what he’s talking about.”

From her Los Angeles residence, Hayes commented: “I'm so happy for Dawn, she is my training partner and friend. Hurdles are so crazy, you can never predict them!”

And she too knows what she’s talking about.

Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF