Expectations high for trio of U.S. 100 hurdlers
RIO DE JANEIRO — The strongest statement that can be made about the depth found on the USA’s women’s 100-meter hurdles team is that the world’s fastest in the event, Kendra Harrison, didn’t even qualify for these Summer Games.
“It’s most definitely one of the toughest teams to make,” said Brianna Rollins, who won the event at the U.S. Olympic team trials last month. “It could’ve been any one of us that broke into the finals to make the team, but I worked really hard and it was something that I truly wanted to accomplish this year.”
Harrison ran a 12.20 at an event in London on July 22, breaking the longstanding world record set by Bulgaria’s Yordanka Donkova (12.21) in 1988. Just weeks earlier, however, Harrison finished sixth at the trials.
In her stead are three first-time Olympians: Rollins, Kristi Castlin and Nia Ali.
Harrison’s absence — along with several other would-be medal contenders, such as two-time Olympic medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson — speaks to the unmatchable depth the USA brings into the event, to the point where it would come as no surprise to see the three U.S. hurdlers finish gold, silver and bronze in the final.
And just how dominant has the USA been this season? Think of it this way: American women have posted the world’s top 24 times in 2016, while the first time from a non-American on the list, Germany’s Cindy Roleder, is nearly a half-second behind Harrison’s world-record time.
“I actually think our trials is a good system,” Rollins said. “It’s unfortunate that Kendra could not make the team but she bounced back in London and broke the world record. It’s part of our sport. It’s about being your best on that day.”
For now, the three U.S. competitors are training partners — “friends as well as track rivals,” Rollins said.
But make no mistake: Even as the USA team is projected to pace the field, there is immense competition among the group, as well as the pressures that come with being the undisputed leaders of the field.
“I try not to put any pressure on myself,” Rollins said. “I just try to continue to believe in what I’m doing. I’ve been training all year for this moment and this is what I do. So it’s just having faith in my coach and trusting in the process that got me to these Olympic Games.”
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