Americans take top two spots in both women’s 60-meter hurdles and 400, with Morris securing third pole vault gold for U.S.

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Three of the elite all-time American collegiate athletes finally broke through with their first individual global gold medals Saturday night at the IAAF World Indoor Championships at Arena Birmingham.

Arkansas graduate Sandi Morris erased the frustration of pole vault silver medals at the Olympics, World Indoor and World Outdoor Championships in the past two years to not only capture the title, but set the meet record with a third-attempt clearance at 16 feet, 2.75 inches (4.95m).

Former Kentucky standout Keni Harrison, eighth in 2016 in the 60-meter hurdles, equaled the American record by clocking 7.70 seconds, helping the U.S. take the top two spots along with Christina Manning (7.79) and three of the top four overall.

And former Texas star Courtney Okolo ran 50.55, the fastest 400 time by an American in World Indoor history to surpass the 1991 mark of 50.64 by Diane Dixon, leading a gold and silver sweep with Shakima Wimbley (51.47).

Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba also made history by becoming the first female athlete since Romania’s Gabriela Szabo in 1999 to sweep in the 1,500 and 3,000 in the same championship.

Dibaba, who also won the 1,500 in 2012, clocked 4:05.27, with Great Britain’s Laura Muir and Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan switching spots from the 3,000 final to complete the podium. Muir ran 4:06.23 and Hassan, the defending champion, finished in 4:07.26 to each earn another medal.

Morris’ victory was the most dramatic of the night, with the competition lasting nearly three hours from the first to last vault.

She needed third-attempt clearances at 15-9 (4.80m) and 16-0.75 (4.90m) to remain in the competition, then finally edged authorized neutral athlete Anzhelika Sidorova on her third try at 16-2.75 to eclipse the 2016 meet record set by Jenn Suhr, before missing on three opportunities at clearing the world indoor record 16-6.50 (5.04m).

Morris joined Suhr and Stacy Dragila in 1997 as the American women's pole vault World Indoor gold medalists.

Sidorova cleared a personal-best 16-0.75 to earn her second World Indoor silver, along with 2014 for Russia.

Greece’s Katerina Stefanidi, who captured Olympic and World Outdoor titles, secured her second World Indoor bronze, along with 2016 with a third-attempt clearance at 15-9. Stefanidi had a run of 19 consecutive victories snapped, the second-longest pole vault streak in history, trailing only the 23 straight wins by Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva from 2006-08.

Harrison and Manning helped the Americans secure 60 hurdles gold and silver for the third time at World Indoors, along with 2008 and 2016. Rising Dutch talent Nadie Visser captured bronze in 7.84, preventing the U.S. from producing the first medal sweep in any event in World Indoor history, with Sharika Nelvis finishing fourth in 7.86.

Okolo and Wimbley secured the first American 1-2 finish in the women’s 400 in World Indoor history, joining Russia, which accomplished the feat in 2004 and 2008. Okolo ran the No. 6 time at World Indoors, producing the second-largest margin of victory in championship history, to add to her 4x400 relay gold medal in 2016 in Portland, Ore.

Bowerman Track Club teammates Shelby Houlihan (4:11.93) and Colleen Quigley (4:15.97) finished fourth and ninth in the 1,500, extending the U.S. drought without a medal in the event to 15 years.

Jamaica’s Aisha Praught-Leer, who trains in Colorado, finished sixth in 4:12.86 to become the first female athlete in her country’s history to place in the World Indoor 1,500 final.