Devon Allen Celebrates Victory with Hayward Leap

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Assistant Editor

When Devon Allen crossed the finish line, there was no doubt who had won. The University of Oregon dual sport prodigy was clear of the field, finishing the Olympic Trials 110 Hurdles final in a personal best 13.03, shattering his own school record. Only Omar McLeod of Jamaica has run faster this year.

As impressive as Allen's win was, his post race celebration will go down in the lore of Hayward Field. Always a fan favorite, he knows how to play to the crowd. After raising his hands in victory, Allen continued down the track well into the turn before he stopped and pointed up into the stands. His next step was a surprise to everyone but him. Allen climbed over the railing and into the stands where he found his father and gave him a big hug.

The Lambeau Leap has long become the signature touchdown celebration of the Green Bay Packers when playing at Lambeau Field. Taking from his other sport, football, Allen started the Hayward Leap. On whether his leap into the stands was planned, Allen said, “I planned it with myself. I didn't tell anybody, but I knew where my parents were sitting.” It will be a moment long remembered by the knowledgeable track fans in Eugene.

Allen is now a two-time U.S. Champion. He missed last year after he tore his ACL in the opening kickoff of the 2015 Rose Bowl against Florida State. Now fully healthy, it appears Allen has not missed a beat and he expects more in Rio. “I was trying to go 12 this meet,” Allen said, referring to breaking the 13-second barrier. “I missed it by four hundredths. I've got some time. I've got about four weeks, five weeks till Rio. I'm excited and ready to go.”

While Allen's victory was obvious, there was still a question of who else had made the team. The wait for second and third to appear on the video board left the other hurdlers looking up and hoping to see their names. The names of Ronnie Ash and Jeff Porter eventually appeared, both in times of 13.21, a difference of 0.001 seconds between them. Aries Merritt was fourth in 13.22. It was the largest margin of victory ever in an Olympic Trials and also the closest margin between second and third.

For Ash, making the team gives him a chance to redeem himself. At the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, he was disqualified for a false start in the opening heats. “Rio is the future, Beijing is the past,” Ash said of his attitude looking forward.

This is Porter's second Olympic team, allowing him to join his wife, Tiffany Porter of Great Britain, in Rio. “It's surreal,” Porter said. “It hasn't quite set in yet.” It has been a few rough years for Porter, who has not finished top-three in the U.S. since 2012. “Since '12, so 2013, '14, '15, I've made the same mistake over and over again. So it's about time I cleaned it up. And that was what I was working on, maintaining that composure.”

For Aries Merritt, there was disappointment in finishing fourth. He was the big story at the World Championships last year where he finished third. Days later he was in the operating room for a kidney transplant. He will not be able to defend his Olympic title he won in London.

There was a noticeable absence on the starting line of the final. David Oliver, who finished second in the semifinal, was not there. The 2013 World Champion has been a fixture of men's high hurdling for many years. He released a statement through USATF, “Devastated I couldn't run in the final. Hurt my left hammy in the semi, but that's part of the game. Hat's off to the great guys we're sending.”

The team the U.S. is sending to Rio is hungry. The ceiling for Devon Allen is unknown, but the more time he devotes to the track, the better he gets. The biggest question for him is how much football will dominate his thoughts after this summer.

Be sure to watch DyeStat's interviews with Devon Allen, Ronnie Ash and Jeff Porter.