World Record Tying U.S. Hurdler Injured At The End Of Last Weekend's Final

By David Woods for DyeStat

Chuck Aragon photo

An injury has knocked hurdler Tia Jones out of the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

Jones tied the world record of 7.67 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles Feb. 16 in the USATF Indoor Championships at Albuquerque, N.M. Less than two hours later, she won the final in 7.68.

At the end of the final, Jones banged off the crash pads and tumbled down the embankment. She expressed no concern in the immediate aftermath. Her coach, Tonja Buford-Bailey, said an MRI revealed an injury, so Jones was omitted from the roster announced Thursday by USA Track & Field. The coach did not disclose the nature of the injury.

The 19th edition of indoor worlds runs from March 1-3 at Glasgow, Scotland. More than $2 million is at stake in prize money. The United States led the medal table at the 2022 meeting in Belgrade, taking three golds and 19 medals overall.

The 23-year-old Jones opened the season by winning in 7.72 at Boston, then finished third at the 116th Millrose Games in 7.79 behind Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas. Charlton’s 7.67 broke the world record of 7.68 held by Sweden’s Susanna Kallur since 2008.

Albuquerque runner-up Jasmine Jones of USC was also not selected for Team USA, choosing to concentrate on the NCAA Division 1 Championships. So, third and fourth place, Masai Russell and Christina (Manning) Clemons, will be in the 60 hurdles.

Team USA features shot putters Ryan Crouser and Chase (Ealey) Jackson, sprinter Noah Lyles, hurdler Grant Holloway and pole vaulter Katie Moon, all gold medalists from last August’s World Championships at Budapest, Hungary.

The roster includes 18 athletes from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 33 from 2023 outdoor worlds at Budapest, Hungary, and 16 from 2022 indoor worlds.

Holloway is trying to repeat his 2022 gold medal after lowering his own world record to 7.27 in heats of the 60-meter hurdles at Albuquerque. He has not lost in that event since March 2014.

In the women’s pole vault, Sandi Morris is a two-time defending champion, having won in 2022 and 2018. (The pandemic canceled the 2020 meet.)

Combined events are by invitation. Team USA will be represented by Chari Hawkins in the pentathlon and Harrison Williams in the heptathlon. Hawkins was eighth and Williams seventh at Budapest.

Even in an Olympic year, most American male stars chose to compete at indoor worlds. Missing on the women’s side are Sha’Carri Richardson, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Athing Mu, Gabby Thomas and multi-eventer Anna Hall, who is recovering from knee surgery.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007