Keni Harrison’s Expertise Isn’t in Query, However the Timing Usually Is

Keni Harrison’s Expertise Isn’t in Query, However the Timing Usually Is

Keni Harrison has been working on the prime degree for what appears like a lifetime. The American dash hurdler burst onto the skilled scene with a mix of pace and quiet grit. Now 32, she’s skilled nearly each emotion this sport has to supply. From breaking a world file weeks after lacking the Olympic staff in 2016, to claiming Silver and Bronze medals at main championships, she’s been near the highest of the rostrum extra occasions than most athletes ever dream of. However one factor nonetheless escapes her: a worldwide Gold medal.

On the Atlanta Metropolis Video games, Harrison reminded everybody simply how briskly she nonetheless is. She clocked a wind-aided 12.30s within the 100m hurdles remaining, simply hours after working 12.44 within the heats. It was sufficient to beat a robust discipline that included the likes of Tia Jones and Grace Stark. Whereas the time gained’t depend for file functions due to the tailwind, it actually counts for confidence.

That win got here simply two weeks after she completed fourth on the Grand Slam Observe meet in Miami, working 12.40 in a race gained by Tia Jones. The turnaround confirmed a key trait Harrison has at all times had in her locker: the power to regulate rapidly. Nonetheless, it additionally introduced again the acquainted query that has adopted her for years. Can she put all of it collectively when the strain is highest?

In some ways, Harrison’s profession has been one among sharp highs and disappointing lows. The world file she set in 2016 on the London Diamond League, simply weeks after failing to make the U.S. Olympic staff, was one among observe and discipline’s most iconic moments in latest reminiscence. It confirmed her capability to provide jaw-dropping performances, but additionally underlined a sample that has adopted her since: her greatest usually comes when the stakes are only a bit decrease.

Harrison has made some changes this season in an try to vary that. After a number of years coaching beneath Bobby Kersee in Los Angeles, she moved on and adjusted her coaching base to Andreas Behm in Arizona. The shift appears to be paying off. Her occasions in 2025 have been constant. She opened her season with a 12.70 in April at Mt. SAC, adopted by a 12.40 in Miami and now a 12.30 in Atlanta. These are the type of marks that counsel she is constructing into form on the proper time.

What stands out about Harrison isn’t simply her pace, however her longevity. She has been competing at a excessive degree for over a decade. She has confronted totally different generations of rivals—from Daybreak Harper-Nelson and Brianna Rollins to present stars like Alaysha Johnson and Masai Russell, and continues to be an element. That degree of consistency is uncommon within the hurdles, the place kind can disappear simply as rapidly because it arrives.

Nonetheless, the Gold is lacking. Harrison gained Silver on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and in addition has World Championship Silver and Bronze medals. However there is no such thing as a world title, no time standing atop the rostrum when it issues most. A part of that’s because of the brutal nature of the U.S. trials system, the place solely three athletes can qualify, and the depth of competitors is unmatched. However a part of it additionally comes all the way down to execution beneath strain. Harrison herself has spoken previously about studying to handle her nerves throughout huge moments. The query is whether or not that studying has caught as much as her expertise.

The efficiency in Atlanta exhibits there may be nonetheless loads left in her legs. It additionally reinforces a long-held perception amongst coaches and followers alike: when Keni Harrison is relaxed and assured, she will run occasions nobody else can contact. That’s why this win in Atlanta issues. It was a glimpse of what she will do when she’s in the suitable headspace. The purpose now’s to hold that kind into the remainder of the season.

Time continues to be on her facet. Harrison doesn’t seem like an athlete winding down. If something, she seems to be in a brand new section, one the place the uncooked starvation of youth is changed by expertise and a clearer understanding of what she must do. Whether or not that lastly results in a worldwide Gold stays to be seen.