{"id":607,"date":"2011-11-07T17:35:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T01:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=607"},"modified":"2011-12-29T08:44:16","modified_gmt":"2011-12-29T16:44:16","slug":"2011-in-review-mens-110-meter-hurdles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=607","title":{"rendered":"2011 in Review \u2013 Men\u2019s 110 Meter Hurdles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This was supposed to be one of those \u201csuper events\u201d with the three fastest men in history going head to head for hurdle supremacy in 2011. And for a quick minute it seemed like that was going to be the case \u2013 but at the end of the day things weren\u2018t quite what we had anticipated.<\/p>\n

David Oliver (USA) started things off hot once again running a WL 13.16 to open up his season on Apr 9th<\/sup>. Then he went to Daegu to test things out at the Pre Worlds competition on May 12th<\/sup>\u2013 the result a swift 13\/24. Then three days later in Shanghai, we would get a peek at two of the Big Three, as Oliver and Liu Xiang (CHN) went head to head with Liu coming out the victor in 13.07 \u2013 a signal that he was indeed back in form.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, the third of the Big Three, Dayron Robles (CUB) would run his own 13.07 in Hengelo; then two days later he would win in Ostrava in 13.14 \u2013 and we looked like we were on course to one of those epic confrontations that we anticipate, but rarely get. But just a few days later in Eugene, Oliver and Liu went head to head once again, this time Oliver scorching 12.94 to Liu\u2019s 13.00 \u2013 and things definitely seemed on the right track. But shortly after Pre, word came that Liu was again nursing injury \u2013 and he wouldn\u2019t be seen on the track again until the Asian Championships in July.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Oliver would win the U.S. Championships in a fine 13.04 \u2013 and back in third place Jason Richardson (13.15) would both PR and seemingly begin to hit his stride. Dayron Robles would win in Lausanne (13.16) and Reims (13.09) to signal that he was indeed ready for the season. Then he and Oliver would go head to head on Paris \u2013 running to a virtual dead heat with Robles being declared the victor 13.09 to 13.09!<\/p>\n

Then the final two big meets before Daegu \u2013 Stockholm & London \u2013 things would begin to change. In Stockholm, Oliver would go up against Nationals 3rd<\/sup>placer Jason Richardson once again \u2013 except this time the tables would turn. While Oliver would hit the final five hurdles in the race, Richardson would run cleanly and score a near PR of 13.17 INTO a -2.3 mps headwind. Suddenly it appeared there might be another addition to the podium chase in Daegu. That was confirmed in London as Robles, Oliver and Richardson all toed the line in their final tune up for Worlds, with Robles (13.04) finishing just ahead of Richardson (13.08 PR) who once again finished in front of Oliver (13.19). And so they headed to Daegu.<\/p>\n

In Daegu it looked like we were going to get even more than anticipated, as the Big Three had become a foursome with the addition of Richardson to the fray. Defending champion Ryan Brathwaite (BAH) was in town, but was eliminated in the heats (5th<\/sup>place) as the Big Four all moved into position \u2013 the three fastest men in history, plus the young would be usurper. At the gun it was Robles and Richardson looking like mirror images of each other as they edged in front. Then mid-race Liu began his patented move, as it became clear that Oliver was not going to be in the hunt. With three hurdles to go it began to look like Liu was going to go by the leading pair when Robles and Liu hit arms, then again over hurdle 9 \u2013 this time with a force that clearly sent Liu backwards. As Liu stumbled backwards, Robles and Richardson headed to the line \u2013 Robles scoring a narrow 13.14 to 13.16 win, temporarily. After protest and a review of the video it was deemed that Robles impeded Liu and he was DQ\u2019d \u2013 making Richardson the World Champion and moving Liu into silver medal position.<\/p>\n

Liu would run no more. Robles, Richardson and Oliver would run again in Zurich \u2013 finishing in that order. They would meet once more in Zagreb, with the same result \u2013 and Robles getting his seasons best of 13.00. Then Robles would go on to run in the Pan Am Games, where he would win once more.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time to sort it all out. And I will say that just as a review of the video in Daegu resulted in a change of the results, so has my review of the season. Because my #1 today is going to be different than the #1 I named when I put out my initial list of #1\u2019s at the end of the season. I will explain why shortly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
#1<\/strong><\/td>\nDayron Robles<\/strong><\/td>\nCuba<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Initially I looked at the Daegu race and said \u201cbut for Robles interference of Liu, Liu would have been World Champion \u2013 and Liu\u2019s loss was not his fault\u201d. I still feel that way \u2013 Liu was on his way to becoming World Champion. That aside, however, Robles had the better season! Robles was 12 \u2013 2 on the year, clearly better than anyone else. He won in Hengelo, Ostrava, Lausanne, Paris, London and Zurich. And aside from Liu, he beat everyone, and did so multiple times. He did everything except win the World title \u2013 and he beat the man who did on every other occasion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
#2<\/strong><\/td>\nJason Richardson<\/strong><\/td>\nUnited States<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Richardson was 8 \u2013 6 on the year, better than everyone else. At the end of the day,, he was the World Champion \u2013 and defeated Liu in their only matchup. He won Ponce and Stockholm, and was 2nd<\/sup>in Reims, London, Zurich and Zagreb \u2013 beaten only by Robles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
#3<\/strong><\/td>\nLiu Xiang<\/strong><\/td>\nChina<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

At the end of the day, Liu\u2019s record was just too short to be ranked #1. He was great when he ran, but with only four meets he can rate no higher. But with a 2 \u2013 1 record over Oliver he does elevate to this spot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
#4<\/strong><\/td>\nDavid Oliver<\/strong><\/td>\nUnited States<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Oliver started out like a repeat of 2010. But an injury during the season slowed him enough that he just could get by the top three at the end of the year. Still, he was better than everyone else as 2nd<\/sup> in Shanghai, Paris & Stockholm; and 3rd<\/sup>in London, Zurich, and Zagreb attest to.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
#5<\/strong><\/td>\nAries Merritt<\/strong><\/td>\nUnited States<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Merritt was clearly better than anyone not in that top four. He was next on the clock at 13.12. He finished behind them in every race but Daegu, (Andy Turner sneaking in for bronze there) as he finished 3rd<\/sup> in Shanghai & Eugene; and 4th<\/sup>in Paris, Stockholm, & London. Merritt was easily the best of the rest.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s my story and I\u2019m stickin with it this time. It\u2019s not often I go back and change my mind, but I had to this time, or I would have done an injustice to Robles\u2019 season \u2013 and Richardson\u2019s too. I was wrong initially, but I fixed it! Next I\u2019ll take a look at the women\u2019s 100 hurdles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was supposed to be one of those \u201csuper events\u201d with the three fastest men in history going head to head for hurdle supremacy in 2011. And for a quick minute it seemed like that was going to be the case \u2013 but at the end of the day things weren\u2018t quite what we had anticipated. David Oliver (USA) started things off hot once again running a WL 13.16 to open up his season on Apr 9th. Then he went to Daegu to test things out at the Pre Worlds competition on May 12th\u2013 the result a swift 13\/24. Then three days later in Shanghai, we would get a peek at two of the Big Three, as Oliver and Liu Xiang (CHN) went head to head with Liu coming out the victor in 13.07 \u2013 a signal that he was indeed back in form. Two weeks later, the third of the Big Three, Dayron Robles (CUB) would run his own 13.07 in Hengelo; then two days later he would win in Ostrava in 13.14 \u2013 and we looked like we were on course to one of those epic confrontations that we anticipate, but rarely get. But just a few days later in Eugene, Oliver and Liu went head to head once again, this time Oliver scorching 12.94 to Liu\u2019s 13.00 \u2013 and things definitely seemed on the right track. But shortly after Pre, word came that Liu was again nursing injury \u2013 and he wouldn\u2019t be seen on the track again until the Asian Championships in July. Meanwhile Oliver would win the U.S. Championships in a fine 13.04 \u2013 and back in third place Jason Richardson (13.15) would both PR and seemingly begin to hit his stride. Dayron Robles would win in Lausanne (13.16) and Reims (13.09) to signal that he was indeed ready for the season. Then he and Oliver would go head to head on Paris \u2013 running to a virtual dead heat with Robles being declared the victor 13.09 to 13.09! Then the final two big meets before Daegu \u2013 Stockholm & London \u2013 things would begin to change. In Stockholm, Oliver would go up against Nationals 3rdplacer Jason Richardson once again \u2013 except this time the tables would turn. While Oliver would hit the final five hurdles in the race, Richardson would run cleanly and score a near PR of 13.17 INTO a -2.3 mps headwind. Suddenly it appeared there might be another addition to the podium chase in Daegu. That was confirmed in London as Robles, Oliver and Richardson all toed the line in their final tune up for Worlds, with Robles (13.04) finishing just ahead of Richardson (13.08 PR) who once again finished in front of Oliver (13.19). And so they headed to Daegu. In Daegu it looked like we were going to get even more than anticipated, as the Big Three had become a foursome with the addition of Richardson to the fray. Defending champion Ryan Brathwaite (BAH) was in town, but was eliminated in the heats (5thplace) as the Big Four all moved into position \u2013 the three fastest men in history, plus the young would be usurper. At the gun it was Robles and Richardson looking like mirror images of each other as they edged in front. Then mid-race Liu began his patented move, as it became clear that Oliver was not going to be in the hunt. With three hurdles to go it began to look like Liu was going to go by the leading pair when Robles and Liu hit arms, then again over hurdle 9 \u2013 this time with a force that clearly sent Liu backwards. As Liu stumbled backwards, Robles and Richardson headed to the line \u2013 Robles scoring a narrow 13.14 to 13.16 win, temporarily. After protest and a review of the video it was deemed that Robles impeded Liu and he was DQ\u2019d \u2013 making Richardson the World Champion and moving Liu into silver medal position. Liu would run no more. Robles, Richardson and Oliver would run again in Zurich \u2013 finishing in that order. They would meet once more in Zagreb, with the same result \u2013 and Robles getting his seasons best of 13.00. Then Robles would go on to run in the Pan Am Games, where he would win once more. Now it\u2019s time to sort it all out. And I will say that just as a review of the video in Daegu resulted in a change of the results, so has my review of the season. Because my #1 today is going to be different than the #1 I named when I put out my initial list of #1\u2019s at the end of the season. I will explain why shortly.   #1 Dayron Robles Cuba Initially I looked at the Daegu race and said \u201cbut for Robles interference of Liu, Liu would have been World Champion \u2013 and Liu\u2019s loss was not his fault\u201d. I still feel that way \u2013 Liu was on his way to becoming World Champion. That aside, however, Robles had the better season! Robles was 12 \u2013 2 on the year, clearly better than anyone else. He won in Hengelo, Ostrava, Lausanne, Paris, London and Zurich. And aside from Liu, he beat everyone, and did so multiple times. He did everything except win the World title \u2013 and he beat the man who did on every other occasion.   #2 Jason Richardson United States Richardson was 8 \u2013 6 on the year, better than everyone else. At the end of the day,, he was the World Champion \u2013 and defeated Liu in their only matchup. He won Ponce and Stockholm, and was 2ndin Reims, London, Zurich and Zagreb \u2013 beaten only by Robles.   #3 Liu Xiang China At the end of the day, Liu\u2019s record was just too short to be ranked #1. He was great when he ran, but with only four meets he can rate no higher. But with a 2 \u2013 1 record over Oliver he does elevate to this spot.   #4 David Oliver United States Oliver started out like a repeat of 2010. But an injury during the season slowed him enough that he just could get by the top three at the end of the year. Still, he was better than everyone else as 2nd in Shanghai, Paris & Stockholm; and 3rdin London, Zurich, and Zagreb attest to.   #5 Aries Merritt United States Merritt was clearly better than anyone not in that top four. He was next on the clock at 13.12. He finished behind them in every race but Daegu, (Andy Turner sneaking in for bronze there) as he finished 3rd in Shanghai & Eugene; and 4thin Paris, Stockholm, & London. Merritt was easily the best of the rest. That\u2019s my story and I\u2019m stickin with it this time. It\u2019s not often I go back and change my mind, but I had to this time, or I would have done an injustice to Robles\u2019 season \u2013 and Richardson\u2019s too. I was wrong initially, but I fixed it! Next I\u2019ll take a look at the women\u2019s 100 hurdles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[86,89,90,88,87],"class_list":["post-607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-110-hurdles","tag-liu","tag-oliver","tag-richardson","tag-robles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-9N","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":551,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=551","url_meta":{"origin":607,"position":0},"title":"World Championships Preview \u2013 110\/100 Hurdles","author":"CHill","date":"August 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The hurdles are always exciting and there should be no shortage of excitement in Daegu. Heading into the World Championships, we have two events that each have four athletes capable of taking to the podium \u2013 unfortunately only three get that privilege! \u00a0 Men\u2019s 110 Hurdles \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.ggpht.com\/-08ExKpA573o\/TkaLwwqdDQI\/AAAAAAAAAVY\/kjBk0fmUssI\/image_thumb3.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":492,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=492","url_meta":{"origin":607,"position":1},"title":"Robles & Campbell Brown Now Lead World","author":"CHill","date":"May 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a very long weekend for track and field. The NCAA regionals, and lower divisions started mid week. Rome was on Thursday. The NCAA meets continued through the weekend. Then following a three day Memorial Day weekend, Ostrava started the week. 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Perhaps the hottest match up of the weekend could be the men's\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=286#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"AVIVA Grand Prix","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/0\/b\/3\/4\/AVIVA_Grand_Prix_1a07.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":252,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=252","url_meta":{"origin":607,"position":3},"title":"Return of Liu Could Spice Up the Hurdles","author":"CHill","date":"December 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"After thirteen months of rehab It looks like Liu Xiang could be fully recovered from his Achilles injury. If he is indeed 100% and back to normal, the 110 hurdles could give the sport another super rivalry to showcase. Prior to his injury, Xiang was as dominant a force as\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"IAAF World Athletics Final - Day 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/0\/f\/6\/9\/IAAF_World_Athletics_2312.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":422,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=422","url_meta":{"origin":607,"position":4},"title":"Top of My Xmas Wish List\u2013Hot Rivalries","author":"CHill","date":"December 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the time of year when you submit your wish list to Santa Claus in hopes that come Christmas morning you will find something special beneath the tree. 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