Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devon Allen on Sunday scorched to the third-fastest 110m hurdles time in history with an upset victory over world champion Grant Holloway at the USATF New York Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old Allen, who signed with the Eagles in April after a successful career in college gridiron, produced a flawless race to surge home in a world-leading time of 12.84 seconds at New York’s Icahn Stadium.
Holloway, the 2019 World Championships gold medalist, was second in 13.06 seconds with Daniel Roberts third in 13.17.
Photo: AFP
Allen’s performance was made all the more remarkable given that he has been juggling track-and-field commitments with off-season training with his Philadelphia Eagles teammates.
Allen said he had thought a fast time was on the cards after recent results in training. Only two men — Holloway (12.81) and world record holder Aries Merritt (12.80) — have finished faster over the distance.
“It’s been there,” Allen said of his time. “We’ve been doing it in training for probably the last six weeks. We just need some fresh legs.”
“I’ve been doing OTAs [organized team activities] in Philly, having fun with the boys playing football, but now I’m back in track mode for the next couple of weeks,” he said. “Really the biggest thing is feeling fresh and now running fast, I’m really excited.”
Allen, a finalist at the 2016 Olympics and the Tokyo Games, plans to race in Europe before returning to the US for the World Championship trials in Eugene, Oregon, at the end of this month.
Allen’s performance was the highlight of Sunday’s meeting in New York.
In other events, reigning US 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson had a mixed day. The flamboyant sprinter, competing in a striking fishnet bodysuit, was beaten in her preferred event, the 100m, finishing second behind Aleia Hobbs.
Hobbs took the tape in 10.83 seconds, with Richardson just behind in 10.85. Olympic finalist Teahna Daniels was third in 10.99.
Richardson bounced back later to win the 200m in 22.38 seconds ahead of Tamara Clark (22.62) and the Bahamas’ Tynia Gaither 22.66.
Richardson’s winning time was well behind this year’s world leading 200m mark of 21.80 set by Abby Steiner at the US National Collegiate Athletic Association championships in Eugene on Saturday.
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