High hurdles seem to be cursed here in Beijing, the latest casualty being US champion and world season leader Lolo Jones who, reminiscent of a certain Gail Devers in Barcelona 1992, crashed into hurdle 9 while well ahead of the rest of the field.

With defending Olympic champion Joanna Hayes not present having failed to survive the US Olympic Trials, the Americans nevertheless managed to defend a title which has been theirs only three times previously.

This time around it was 24-year-old Dawn Harper who joins Hayes, Benita Fitzgerald-Brown (1984) and Babe Didricksen (1932-80m Hurdles) in the Olympic Games record books.

Based in Los Angeles and training with the likes of Hayes, 3-time World champion Devers and 2-time World champion Michelle Perry to name but a few, Harper is the latest of guru Bob Kersee’s protégés to make it to the top of the podium but her road to glory here in Beijing was far from smooth as she only secured a spot on the team by 7 thousands of a second!

From third at the Trials to Olympic champion, the 2003 Pan American champion timed it to perfection to clock a personal best 12.54, the only athlete in tonight’s final to actually improve on her best time.

For most of the race, focus was on the inside lanes as Australia’s national record holder Sally McLellan had an amazingly fast start in lane 3. Running immediately to her right, Jones was shocked by the former World Junior champion’s reaction and she found herself trailing up until hurdle 3.

Jones has been so fast this year that she had little difficulties recovering the lead just as fast as McLellan had blasted off the blocks. With them, World bronze medallist Delloreen Ennis-London was maintaining contact from lane 5, as was Harper in 6.

By the eighth hurdle Jones was digging so hard that she looked set to grab the gold medal most of the pundits had already put around her neck. Unfortunately for her she clipped the ninth barrier so hard she was totally thrown off her tempo. She did well to recover and finish the race but gold was already gone.

While all eyes were on Jones who took her shades off immediately past the finish line to kneel down, her face covered under her arms, it took a replay of the race on the screen board to actually notice Harper had won it by a full tenth of a second.

It wasn’t such an easy call for the minor medals as the next five athletes dipped towards the finish in what looked like a straight line from lane 3 all the way down to lane 9.

While the photo finish was being examined and athletes waited anxiously – Jones still on the floor her head down – the second replay showed McLellan looking over her right and venturing a little smile as she noticed that she was up in there with the very best.

But nothing was less sure. Eventually the scoreboard flashed the next five names contemporaneously revealing that only two hundredths of a second separated second from sixth. McLellan was given a nod in second, winning Australia’s first track medal of the Games with Canada’s Priscilla Lopes-Schliep in third. Both were timed at 12.64.

US Olympic Trials runner up Damu Cherry was credited with 12.65 good enough for fourth as Ennis-London and compatriot Brigitte Foster-Hylton shared the same time 12.66 respectively fifth and sixth.

Jones was seventh at 12.72.

Eventually Jones stood up and walked towards the mixed zone having to experience her nightmare again as her dramatic clip was showed again and again on the screen.

"You hit a hurdle about twice a year where it affects your race," said a very emotional Jones. "It's just a shame that it happened on the biggest race of my life.

"About the middle part of the race, the hurdles were just coming up very fast. It's kind of like a car. When you race in a car and you're going max velocity and you hit a curve, you either maintain control or you crash and burn and today I crashed and burned."

“I am shocked and sad. I did such an amazing job this year but in the hurdles you have to get over all ten. It’s very hard right now, it’ll be harder tomorrow.”

The winner commented on Jones: “certain people have to be the favourites but on the day they have to run their race. On the day it’s anyone’s race and I gave myself a chance.”

“Being the Olympic champion has always been a dream of mine. It’s so surreal, it’s so amazing. To have the world say that I am the Olympic champion, it’s so amazing.”

“Bobby (Kersee) said it to me a million times since coming into Beijing,” she added. “Focus on your body, focus on yourself. And that is just what I did.”

“After the semis, he said to me ‘you’re on that podium, the colour of the medal is up to you.’ And for him to say such things, it’s great motivation as obviously he knows what he’s talking about.”

From her Los Angeles residence, Hayes commented: “I'm so happy for Dawn, she is my training partner and friend. Hurdles are so crazy, you can never predict them!”

And she too knows what she’s talking about.

Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF

In what turned out to be a cursed day for hurdlers, World Indoor record holder Susanna Kallur was the third athlete after Liu Xiang and Terrence Trammell this morning, to experience drama.

The 27-year-old European champion who was forced to cut her season short after the Oslo Golden League meeting in early June to recover from a hamstring injury in order to be healthy enough to be competitive here in Beijing did not fail through injury this time. She clipped the first barrier and crashed to the floor, her Olympic dream shattered in less than two seconds.

Ironically Kallur’s demise is reminiscent of former World champion Perdita Felicien’s at the Athens Olympic Games final when the Canadian tried to go too out hard only to clip the first hurdle. Not only did she fall she also knocked Irina Shevchenko of Russia in the process.

Here it was Vonette Dixon who was affected by the Swedish’s crash although the Jamaican did finish the race. After stumbling over the third hurdle, Dixon took too much time to recover her tempo and could only finish fifth.

Up front Damu Cherry and Dawn Harper, respectively second and third at the US Olympic Trials, scored a convincing one-two, Cherry prevailing by four hundredths of a second in 12.62.

"I noticed it (Kallur falling)," Harper said. "But as soon as I noticed it, my next hurdle was right there. Besides hitting one of the hurdles, that was a good race for me. The USA is ready and we can meet our expectations. It's about time."  

Jamaican champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton was next through the line in 12.76 ahead of Great Britain’s Sarah Claxton who held off Dixon’s desperate challenge in the run-in.

Running on the outside, World Indoor bronze medallist Anay Tejada was also thrown off as she lost her tempo half way through the race. The Cuban failed to finish.

After eventually coming to terms with her disappointment, Kallur finally stood up and walked towards the finish line trying to hold back tears under the supportive applaud of the crowd. In probably the kindest of gestures, Foster-Hylton waited for her and spared a few words which Kallur visibly appreciated as she even managed a smile at the TV camera.

"I guess I tried to much," commented Kallur. "I wanted to run too fast. For the first time this summer, I felt in really good shape. But I pushed too much. I hope I'll be back on the track again in a few weeks. It's not as bad (physically) as it is mentally."

The first of two semi finals had been much less eventful with US champion and World season leader Lolo Jones setting a new personal best 12.43, an impressive 24 hundredths of a second clear of Delloreen Ennis-London in second.

And Jones hadn’t even started well! Trailing up until the third hurdle, Jones was just head and shoulders above the rest of the field her race seeming effortless.

Jones evidently meant business tonight, a fact she confirmed when saying "when you put pressure on someone in the hurdles, they crack. I try to do that. (The time) means nothing. I'll forget about it and do much better. There's so many girls that I fear. It's anybody's race." 

Canadian champion Priscilla Lopes-Schliep took the third qualifying spot in 12.68 to match the achievement of compatriots Felicien and Angela Whyte, both finalists in Athens 2004.

Australian record holder Sally Gunnell only just managed to qualify in fourth upsetting Josephine Onyia, a disappointing fifth in 12.86 only two months after lowering her Spanish national record to 12.50.

With three Americans in the final, including the fastest in the world this year, the US sprint hurdlers look set to defend the title Joanna Hayes took in Athens 2004. And maybe also have a go at her Olympic record 12.37!

Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF