UK Track & Field Alumna Kendra Harrison into World 100H Final

Kentucky alumna Kendra Harrison advanced to her first IAAF World Championships final in the 100-meter hurdles at London StadiumĀ on Friday.
The road to the final was paved with some unanticipated peril, but perhaps as a sign of how far Harrison has come in her still young professional career, the two-time NCAA Champion found a way to overcome.
The field had to be recalled to the blocks upon the first start gun firing, but a green card was issued to the field. On the restart, Harrison got out of the blocks well, but then flew into the first hurdle. She did well to stay in contention, and finished third in semifinal three with a 12.86 time to qualify as the second non-automatic qualifier by just a 0.01-second margin.
ā€œI can’t worry about one performance,ā€ Harrison said. ā€œI think that first little hiccup threw me off, but I just tried to make it through. I’m excited for the final. It’s my first one, and I’m ready to come out here and get the job done.ā€
Harrisonā€™s Championships openerĀ on FridayĀ was a smoother trip as she was fastest qualifier in the preliminary heats winning the third prelim in 12.60Q (-0.6).
Harrison will run out of lane three in the final, which is scheduled forĀ 3:05 p.m. ETĀ on Saturday. That race will fall in the NBC live broadcast window.
Two of Harrisonā€™s training partners (Lexington resident non-UK alum hurdlers that now work with the current Wildcats and train under UK head coach Edrick FlorĆ©alā€™s direction) have already claimed gold at these World Championships.Ā On Thursday, Stanford alumna and now UK volunteer assistant coach Kori Carter won the 400m hurdles.Ā On Monday, Arkansas alumnus ā€“ a UK volunteer assistant too ā€“ won the 110m hurdles.
 
ā€œI love training with Omar and Kori,ā€ Harrison explained. ā€œWe push each other. We all have high standards. We like to reach our goals and to have such a strong group of teammates is why weā€™re successful.
ā€œWatching them run and get their jobs done is inspiration for me to go out there and do what I know I can.ā€
At the semifinal stage of the last IAAF World Championships in Beijing 2015, Harrison was disqualified for a false start. She placed eighth in the final at the 2016 World Indoor Championships after hitting a hurdle early on.
She famously placed sixth at the United States Olympic Trials last summer, missing a spot on Team USATF for the Rio Games weeks after breaking the American record at the same track in Oregon. Harrison followed up the trials disappointment by breaking the world record running a time of 12.20 at the Diamond League Anniversary Games inside London StadiumĀ two weeks later.
The weekend outlook
McLeod could feature in the 4x100m pool for JamaicaĀ on Saturday. Kentuckyā€™s Kayelle Clarke — the third leg on UKā€™s NCAA Champion 4x100m relay in June ā€“ is part of Trinidad and Tobagoā€™s relay pool, after she medaled at the T&T Championships in June and raced in the World Championships 200m heats earlier this week.
 

UKTF Results/ Timetable ā€“ 2017 IAAF World Championships: London
Event UK entry/attachment
Friday, August 4
Menā€™s Discus qualification 20. Andrew Evans (U.S.): 201’1″/61.32m
Sunday, August 6
Menā€™s 110H heats 2. (Omar McLeod ā€“ Volunteer assistant coach/Arkansas alum [Jamaica]): 13.23Q (-1.2)
Menā€™s Marathon 67. Luis Orta (Venezuela): 2:33.42
Womenā€™s Marathon DNF: Hiruni Wijuayaratne (Sri Lanka)
Menā€™s 110H Semifinals 1. McLeod: 13.10Q (+0.2)
Monday, August 7
Womenā€™s 400H Heats Ā 3. (Kori Carter — Volunteer assistant coach/Stanford alum [U.S.]): 54.99Q
17. Leah Nugent (Jamaica): 56.16q
Menā€™s 110H Final 1. Omar McLeod (Jamaica ā€“ UA alum): 13.04 (0.0) | World Champion
Tuesday, August 8
Womenā€™s 200m heats
Seven heats | First 3 in each heat (Q), next 3 fastest (q)
35. Kayelle Clarke: 23.75 (-0.1)
400m Hurdles semifinals
Three heats | Top 2 in each heat (Q), next fastest (q)
4. Kori Carter (U.S ā€“ SU alum): 54.92Q
14. Leah Nugent: 56.19
Wednesday, August 9
Womenā€™s Long Jump qualification
Automatic qualifying mark: 21ā€™11.75ā€/6.70m (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q)
21. Shaā€™Keela Saunders (U.S.): 20’9″/6.32m
Thursday, August 10
Womenā€™s 400m hurdles final 1. Kori Carter (U.S. | Stanford alumna): 53.07 ā€“ World Champion
Womenā€™s 100m Hurdles Heats
Five heats | First four in each heat (Q) next four fastest times (q)
1. Kendra Harrison (U.S. ā€“ UK Class of 2015): 12.60Q (-0.6)
Womenā€™s 100m Hurdles Semifinals 8. Harrison: 12.86q (+0.2)
Time (ET) Time (GMT +1) Event UK entry/attachment
Saturday, August 12
5:35 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Womenā€™s 4x100m relay heats (Kayelle Clarke, Trinidad & Tobago)
3:05 p.m. 8:05 p.m. Womenā€™s 100m Hurdles Final Ln. 3: Kendra Harrison (U.S. ā€“ UK Class of 2015)
4:30 p.m. 9:30 p.m. Womenā€™s 4x100m relay final TBD

Ā 

Broadcast Listings ā€“ 2017 IAAF World Championships: London
Date Channel Event Start (ET) End (ET)
Saturday, Aug. 12 Olympic Channel Day 10 – Morning Session 3:00 AM 11:00 AM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Sports Gold NBCSN Feed: Day 9 5:00 AM 7:00 AM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBCSN Day 9 – Morning Session 5:00 AM 7:00 AM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Sports Gold Track Events: Day 9 6:00 AM 8:05 AM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Sports Gold Discus: Day 9 7:00 AM 9:10 AM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 Olympic Channel Day 9 – Morning Session 9:00 AM 12:00 PM Tape Delay
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Sports Gold Pole Vault: Day 9 10:15 AM 1:20 PM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Sports Gold Javelin: Day 9 1:30 PM 5:30 PM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Sports Gold NBC Feed: Day 9 3:00 PM 5:00 PM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Day 9 – Evening Session 3:00 PM 5:00 PM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Sports Gold High Jump: Day 9 3:05 PM 5:00 PM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 NBC Sports Gold Track Events: Day 9 4:05 PM 5:55 PM Live
Saturday, Aug. 12 Olympic Channel Day 9 – Evening Session 8:00 PM 10:00 PM Tape Delay
Sunday, Aug. 13 NBC Sports Gold 50km Race Walk: Day 10 3:45 AM 8:05 AM Live
Sunday, Aug. 13 NBC Sports Gold 20km Race Walk: Day 10 8:20 AM 11:55 AM Live
Sunday, Aug. 13 NBC Sports Gold NBC Feed: Day 10 2:30 PM 4:30 PM Live
Sunday, Aug. 13 NBC Day 10 – Evening Session 2:30 PM 4:30 PM Live
Sunday, Aug. 13 NBC Sports Gold High Jump: Day 10 3:00 PM 4:50 PM Live
Sunday, Aug. 13 NBC Sports Gold Discus: Day 10 3:10 PM 4:20 PM Live
Sunday, Aug. 13 NBC Sports Gold Track Events: Day 10 3:35 PM 5:20 PM Live
Sunday, Aug. 13 Olympic Channel Day 10 – Evening Session 8:00 PM 10:00 PM Tape Delay

Ā 

The most up-to-date coverage of the UK track and field program is available via @KentuckyTrack handles onĀ Twitter,Ā InstagramĀ andĀ Facebook.
 
ā€‘ GO CATS –
Jake Most

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