Pleasantville’s Nia Ali coasted to a win in her 100 hurdles heat at the World Championships Tuesday at the National Sports Center in Budapest, Hungary.
Ali was first across the line in the second of five qualifying races for the semifinals. The first four in each heat and the next four-fastest hurdlers qualified for the second round, which is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Ali, who won her first U.S. championship in June at 34 years old, ran 12.55 and won her race by 1-10th of a second over Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska, who ran 12.65.
Ali will be in Lane 6 in the 3rd of three semifinal races.
The first two finishers in each of the three races plus the next two-fastest runners advance to the final, which is scheduled for 3:22 p.m. on Thursday.
Ali is No. 2 in the world this year with her 12.30 in Monaco last month. U.S. record holder Kendra Harrison took over the No. 1 world ranking from Ali on Tuesday, when she won her qualifying race in 12.24. Harrison set the American record of 12.20 in London in 2016.
Ali’s 12.30 is No. 9 in world history and No. 3 all-time in the U.S., behind Harrison and Brianna McNeal, who ran 12.26 in Des Moines in 2013.
Ali won the 100-meter highs at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 