Ashford is king of masters hurdlers
On a fortuitous 7/11, David Ashford of Illinois put his money where his spikes are — shattering the M40 world record in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 13.73 seconds (into a slight wind). Highlighting a season in which he and his agent promised a masters record in the event, Ashford beat the record and the former record holder in the same race — the finals of the WMA World Championships in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Karl Smith of Jamaica saw his 13.96 record from 2001 Brisbane eclipsed, but at age 43 Smith clocked 14.24 to smash the old single-age record of 14.9 by American Walt Butler in 1984.
The results:
Finals
1 Ashford, Dave M40 United States 13.73* -0.5 13.13 98.32%
2 Smith, Karl M43 Jamaica 14.24 -0.5 13.29 97.19%
3 Patterson, Glenn M41 United States 14.61 -0.5 13.86 93.16%
4 Wilkinson, Des M40 Great Britain 15.30 -0.5 14.63 88.24%
5 Hayrapetyan, Gerasim M44 Armenia 16.02 -0.5 14.82 87.14%
6 Patry, Marc M42 France 16.10 -0.5 15.15 85.28%
7 Reddington, Glen M40 Great Britain 16.21 -0.5 15.50 83.28%
8 Drabben, Helmut M44 The Netherlands 16.98 -0.5 15.71 82.21%
Ashford had served notice of his ability to run sub-14 at Wednesday’s prelims, when he ran a sensational 14.02 — nearly two seconds ahead of the runner-up in Heat 1. Heat 2 was won by Jamaica’s Smith.
Ashford has set the bar far higher than anyone might have expected, having run 14.11 a year ago over the 39-inch (high school) hurdles. Just goes to show what turning 40 — and having the world record holder in the same race — can do for you.
