Pleasantville’s Nia Ali ran the fastest 100-meter hurdles time in the world this year Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.
Ali, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and 2019 world champion, ran 12.44 to win the highs at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational at Percy Beard Track on the University of Florida campus.
That’s her 7th-fastest time ever.
She edged Tonea Marshal, the runner-up to Ali at last year’s U.S. Championships in Eugene. Marshal’s 12.45 is No. 2 in the world this year.
In the trials, Marshal edged Ali, with both timed in 12.47 – Marshall was 12.466 and Ali 12.470. That was the 2nd-fastest time Ali has ever run that wasn’t in a final. She ran 12.43 in the semis at nationals in Eugene last summer.
Ali ranks 9th in world history with her 12.30 in Monaco this past July. That’s also No. 3 in U.S. history
All of Nia Ali’s sub-12.50 100-Meter Hurdles 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 [sf], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.44 … Tom Jones Memorial Invitational [f], Gainesville, Fla., April 12, 2024 [1st]
12.47 … Tom Jones Memorial Invitational [sf], Gainesville, Fla., April 12, 2024 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.49 … World Championships [sf], Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 23, 2023 [—]
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 