Hurdler Nia Ali Wins Long-Awaited First Global Gold Medal

By Brooklynn Loiselle, Special to DyeStat

DOHA, Qatar – Nia Ali’s son, Titus, had one request of his mom ahead of the 100-meter hurdles final Sunday at the 2019 IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championship. He wanted to walk on the track again like he did in the 2016 Rio Olympics, in which Ali earned the silver medal for the United States.

Following the conclusion of the race, Titus, 4, danced for the camera in celebration of his mother’s gold medal. Ali, 30, followed closely behind, carrying her 1-year-old daughter, Yuri, who was wrapped in the American flag.

“He was looking forward to it, and I’m happy I was able to give him the chance to do that,” Ali said.

The mother of two won the gold in a personal-best 12.34 seconds, and world record holder and fellow American Keni Harrison secured silver in 12.46. Danielle Williams of Jamaica, who was the world leader, finished third in 12.47, just .01 behind Harrison.

Ali, who won the world indoor 60-meter hurdles title in 2016, got out of the blocks well, going over hurdle No. 1 before her competitors. She kept her lead, cleanly clearing each hurdle, and fought off Harrison and Williams, who were surging, to win her first outdoor gold.

“I replayed this race so much in my head, and every time,” Ali said. “And that’s the way it ended for me.”

“She’s amazing,” Harrison said. “Every time she comes to championship, she always shows out, so I knew she was going to do her part. And I knew I had to do my part to represent Team USA the best I can.”

Ali said that motherhood has taught her patience, something that she has learned to apply to her career. At the 2013 worlds, she injured her hamstring in the semifinals. She missed 2015 because of Titus’ birth. And in 2017, she ran her slowest time of the season during the final. 

Sunday’s gold was Ali’s first medal at an outdoor world championship.

The same goes for Harrison, who was disqualified in her semifinal heat in 2015 and placed fourth in 2017.

“It feels amazing,” Harrison said. “Every time I come to these world championships, I get better and better … I’m on the right path, and my confidence is definitely building.”

Ali, who also set a personal best in her semifinal, said that it inspired her to see American Allyson Felix and Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, both moms, win golds earlier in the meet.

“To see everyone come together and feed off of one another, that was just the main thing,” she said. “I mean, Shelly’s always ‘Hey – do your thing,’ giving me great tips, great advice. Allyson’s supportive, so it was great to be able to feed off of that, especially at the end of the championship.”

While the women’s 100-meter hurdles had a surprise winner, the men’s 1,500 did not.

Following Friday’s semifinal, American Matthew Centrowitz, who won 1,500-meter gold in the Rio Olympics, was asked whether the field was open for Sunday’s final.

“I wouldn’t call it wide open by any means,” Centrowitz said. “On any given day, there’s probably a handful of people that everyone expects to medal, but I would say [Timothy] Cheruiyot is the clear favorite.”

He was correct.

Cheruiyot, who came in as the world leader, decisively won the gold in 3 minutes, 29.26 seconds for Kenya, two seconds ahead of silver medalist Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria, who ran a season-best 3:31.38. Marcin Lewandowski of Poland captured bronze in 3:31.46, a national record.

Centrowitz finished eighth in 3:32.81, and U.S. champion Craig Engels finished 10th in 3:34.24. 

Cheruiyot, the No. 7 all-time runner in the event, took the lead from the gun and pushed the pace dramatically over the first lap. Only fellow Kenyan Ronald Kwemoi went with him. The two ran the next two laps together before Cheruiyot pulled away about 150 meters before the bell lap.

“We are all going to say this, but I was right next to Cheruiyot, and I’d say the whole field knew what he was going to do,” Centrowitz said. “I kind of felt like I had an advantage to get off the line side by side with him, but he made a hard move right after the 100. And if you weren’t the first guy right behind him, it’s kind of hard to cover that.”

Centrowitz, who just finished his first season with the Bowerman Track Club after switching from the Nike Oregon Project, said that he was happy with how his season went, given that his injuries prevented him from working out from last November through March.

“I feel like with another year with this same team, and Coach getting to know me better and  me getting to know the program better, I expect to come next year with hopefully PRs,” Centrowitz said, “and get back on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics.”

In the last events of the competition, both the U.S. women’s and men’s teams won the gold in the 4x400 relay, bringing the United States’ count to 18 golds total for the championships.

Phyllis Francis, who placed fifth in the 400 meters, took the early lead for the United States, and the rest of the team, consisting of Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and Wadeline Jonathas, never let it go, winning in a world-leading 3:18.92. 

“I think we knew [we won] after Phyllis’s leg,” said McLaughlin, who placed second in the 400-meter hurdles to Muhammad. “She put us in the lead, and I just tried to extend it, and each girl just went further and further.”

Poland won the silver in a national record 3:21.89 while Jamaica took the bronze in 3:23.37. 

For the men, Fred Kerley, who won the bronze in the 400 meters, ran a blazing 43.44 first leg to give the U.S. team the lead. 

Although the team faced some competition from Jamaica on the second and third legs, Michael Cherry and Wil London III were able to maintain the United States’ lead. Hurdler Rai Benjamin, who placed second in the 400-meter hurdles, anchored the team to a finish of 2:56.69.

Jamaica won the silver in 2:57.90, while Belgium won bronze in 2:58.78.

In the men's 10,000 meters, Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei led six runners under 27 minutes to win the gold medal. The World Cross Country champion ran 26:48.36, a world-leading time, for the gold. Behind him, two Ethiopian (Nike Oregon Project's Yomif Kejelcha took silver in 26:49.34) and three Kenyan athletes went sub-27 before Moh Ahmed of Canada took sixth in 26:59.35 for a national record. Ahmed's Bowerman Track Club teammate, Lopez Lomong of the U.S., was seventh with a personal-best time of 27:04.72.

Germany's Malaika Mihambo dominated the women's long jump competition with a winning mark of 7.30m (23-11.50), the best in the world since 2016. Tori Bowie of the U.S. finished fourth.

Anderson Peters of Grenada, the NCAA champion from Mississippi State, won the gold medal in the javelin with 86.89m (285-1). Peters had the two longest throws of the competition. Estonia's Magnus Kirt was the silver medalist and Germany's Johannes Vetter took the bronze.