Nia Ali turned in one of the greatest hurdles performances in world history Friday with a 12.30 to win the 100-meter highs at the Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvielle, Monaco.
That’s 9th-fastest in world history.
Ali, a 2006 Pleasantville graduate, lowered her lifetime-best 12.34 from her win at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and took over the 2023 world lead from Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Qunn, who ran 12.31 in May at the Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.
“I feel amazing, it was a PB for me (and) the first time I won in a Diamond League (meet),” Ali told reporters at Stade Louis II Stadium.
“I cannot believe it and it is lovely to have won here in Monaco, it is a beautiful place and I really enjoy myself here, I am so happy I was able to give the best of myself here today. I started very fast and then in the middle of the race I told myself, “Do not fall asleep.’”
Ali held a slight lead over Harrison through four hurdles. They were tied at 6.30 through five hurdles and Harrison led through six (7.24 to 7.25), seven (8.18 to 8.20), eight (9.13 to 9.15), nine (10.10 to 10.13) and 10 hurdles (11.09 to 11.11).
But Ali was 3-100ths of a second faster from the final hurdle to the finish line.
Alaysha Johnson [12.39] and Tia Jones [12.39] finished 3rd and 4th, making it a 1-2-3-4 U.S. sweep.
“I really fought for it because I felt myself a bit behind at the last hurdle,” Ali said. “But then I just attacked the fiish line and (won.)”
For the full race analysis, click here.
Ali’s time is No. 9 performer in world history and No. 3 in U.S. history. Full all-time top-10 is below. Her 12.30 is 20th-fastest performance (including multiple races by the same hurdlers) in history.
Ali edged American record holder Kendra Harrison by 1-100th of a second. Harrison set the U.S. record when she set what was then a world record of 12.20 in London in 2018.
The race was held with a legal 0.6 meters-per-second tailwind.
Ali broke the meet record of 12.42 set by Gail Devers in 2002,
Ali, 34 years old and with three kids, is all the way back and better than ever after going 894 days – from Worlds in October 2019 to a meet in Coral Gables, Fla., in March 2022 – without running a 100-meter hurdles race.
Earlier this month, she won her first U.S. outdoor title in 12.37 and she also had a 12.38 in Poland and a 12.41 in Hungary in the past week as well as a 12.43 in the semifinals at nationals in Eugene.
That means she’s run five of the six-fastest times of her life in the last 13 days. The full list of her all-time top-10 is below.
This performance makes Ali the favorite going into the World Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 19-27.
Ali, Harrison and Masai Russell will represent the U.S. at Worlds.
“My objective now for the rest of the season is to stay healthy and try to improve my technique,” she said. “I know that Budapest will be a very strong competition and a very fast race so I am looking forward to the challenges.”
Nią Ali’s 10-Fastest Lifetime Times
12.30 … Herculis Diamond League [f], Fontvielle, Monaco, July 21, 2023
12.34 … World Championships [f], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.37 … U.S. Championships, [f], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023 [1st]
12.38 … Memorial Kamila Skolimowska Diamond League, Stadion Śląski [f], Chorzów, Poland, July 16, 2023 [3rd]
12.41 … Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix [f], Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 18, 2023 [2nd]
12.43 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [sf], Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [sf], Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [—]
10-Fastest Performers in World History
12.12 … Tobi Amusan [Nigeria], Eugene, Ore., July 24, 2022
12.20 … Kendra Harrison [USA], London, July 22, 2016
12.21 … Yordanka Donkova [Bulgaria], Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, Aug. 20, 1988
12.25 … Ginka Zagorcheva [Bulgaria], Drama, Germany, Aug. 8, 1987
12.26 … Lyudmila Narozhilenko [Russia], Sevilla, Spain, June 6, 1992
12.26 … Brianna McNeal [USA], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013
12.26 … Jasmine Camacho-Quinn [Puerto Rico], Tokyo, Aug. 1, 2021
12.28 … Sally Pearson [Australia], Daegu, South Korea, Sept, 3, 2011
12.30 … Nia Ali [USA], Fontvielle, Monaco, July 21, 2023
12.31 … Britany Anderson [Jamaica], Eugene, July 24, 2022
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 