Aug. 30, 2003
USC volunteer assistant coach Allen Johnson, the No. 1 ranked 110m hurdler in the world, proved worthy of his ranking by claiming his fourth world championship on Saturday in Paris. He is the first athlete to win four world titles in the event. Carolina alum Terrence Trammell finished second in the event for a 1-2 finish of Gamecock head coach Curtis Frye’s pupils.
Johnson clocked a winning time of 13.12 seconds while Trammell followed with a time of 13.20. The duo also finished 1-2 at June’s U.S. Championships in Palo Alto, Calif. Both Johnson and Trammell are training partners and both coached by Frye. Johnson, who is unbeaten this season, won world titles in 1995, 1997 and 2001 and took home a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Trammell’s success at USC included 13 All-Americans and five NCAA titles.
Johnson (Irmo, S.C.) led virtually from start to finish to surpass Greg Foster’s three championships from 1983, ’87, and ’91 to become the greatest hurdler in World Championships history.
“It wasn’t the best race that I’ve ever run, but it was good enough for first place and I’m happy with that,” said Johnson. “I got off balance over the first two hurdles and after that I did what I could to stay ahead of Terrence (Trammell), because I could see him on the right. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking about the time, I was thinking about coming here and winning. I was nervous, because I knew it was really going to be hard and I really wanted my fourth title. Each time I’m in a championships race I just treat it like it’s the first time I’ve ever been in a championship race and I focus on what I have to do.”
USC alum Terrence Trammell took second place in the 110m hurdles at the 2003 World Championships.
|
 |
“I’m glad I was able to come out and get a silver medal after only having three competitions up to this point,” said Trammell. “I did the best that I could under the circumstances and I’m pleased. I would give my mechanics about a B or a B-. I’m happy with it and I’m looking forward to better things.”
The IAAF World Championships conclude Sunday, August 31. Complete event results and schedules can be found at http://www.iaaf.org. The site is also linked through the uscsports.com men’s and women’s track pages.
More Information
