Kendra Harrison facts for kids
Kendra Harrison in 2018
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| Nickname(s) | Keni Harrison | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 18, 1992 Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Height | 5 ft 4 in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 100 meters hurdles, 60 meters hurdles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Kentucky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Adidas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Edrick Floréal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal best(s) |
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Medal record
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Kendra "Keni" Harrison (born September 18, 1992) is an American hurdler. She is famous for setting a world record in the women's 100 metres hurdles race. On July 22, 2016, she ran the race in just 12.20 seconds. This amazing time happened at the London Müller Anniversary Games. Keni broke the old record of 12.21 seconds, which had stood for almost 28 years!
Keni competed for the University of Kentucky Wildcats in college. In 2015, she won important NCAA championships. She won both indoor and outdoor hurdle titles. Later, she earned a silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She also won a gold medal at the 2018 World Indoor Championship in the 60m hurdles.
Contents
Keni Harrison's Journey in Track and Field
Early Life and First Steps
Kendra Harrison was born in Tennessee on September 18, 1992. She was adopted by Gary and Karon Harrison. Keni grew up in a big family with ten other children. Eight of her siblings were also adopted.
Her first sport was soccer. But she started track and field when she went to Clayton High School in Clayton, North Carolina. Keni quickly became a top hurdler in high school. She won state championships in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, she also won the 100m hurdles at the New Balance Nationals. She was even named the Gatorade North Carolina Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
College Success and Growth
After high school, Keni went to Clemson University in 2011. As a freshman in 2012, she won the Atlantic Coast Conference title. She won in both the 400 m hurdles and the 4 × 400 m relay. She also competed in the 100m hurdles at the 2012 Olympic Trials.
In 2013, Keni moved from Clemson to the University of Kentucky. Her coach, Tim Hall, and fellow sprinter Dezerea Bryant also moved with her. At Kentucky, she continued to improve. In 2014, she won both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships. She was the first athlete since 1999 to win both events.
Keni had a hamstring injury in late 2014. This made her miss the start of the 2015 indoor season. But she came back strong! She won the 60 m hurdles at both the SEC and NCAA indoor championships. Her time of 7.87 seconds in the NCAA meet was very fast. In 2015, she also won her first outdoor NCAA title. She won the 100m hurdles in 12.55 seconds.
In November 2015, Keni received the NCAA's Today's Top 10 Award. This award goes to athletes who do well in sports, school, and their community.
Becoming a Professional Athlete
After college, Keni continued to train with her University of Kentucky coach, Edrick Floréal. In 2015, she focused only on the 100m hurdles. She placed second at the United States championships. This helped her qualify for the World Championships in Beijing. However, she had a false start in the semi-finals and was disqualified.
Keni started her 2016 outdoor season with a very fast time of 12.36 seconds. This was the fastest start ever for a hurdler. At the Prefontaine Classic in May, she ran an incredible 12.24 seconds. This was the second-fastest time in history! Only Yordanka Donkova's world record from 1988 was faster.
Keni was expected to win the 100m hurdles at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials. But she placed sixth and missed qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Even though she missed the Olympics, Keni didn't give up.
Just a few weeks later, on July 22, 2016, Keni Harrison broke the 100m hurdles world record! She ran 12.20 seconds at the London Müller Anniversary Games. She beat Donkova's record by one-hundredth of a second. This was an amazing comeback after missing the Olympics.
In 2021, Keni finally made it to her first Olympics. On August 2, 2021, she won the silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Keni Harrison's Achievements
Fastest Times (Personal Bests)
- 60m hurdles – 7.70 seconds (Birmingham 2018) =North American record
- 60 meters – 7.23 seconds (Houston, TX 2020)
- 100m hurdles – 12.20 seconds (London 2016) North American record
- 100 meters – 11.35 seconds (Lexington, KY 2016)
- 200 meters – 22.81 seconds (Gainesville, FL 2018)
- 400m hurdles – 54.09 seconds (Eugene, OR 2015)
International Competitions and Medals
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | – (sf) | 100m hurdles | DQ |
| 2016 | World Indoor Championships | Portland, United States | 8th | 60m hurdles | 8.87 |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 4th | 100m hurdles | 12.74 |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 60m hurdles | 7.70 |
| NACAC Championships | Toronto, Canada | 1st | 100m hurdles | 12.55 | |
| IAAF Continental Cup | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 2nd | 100m hurdles | 12.52 | |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 2nd | 100m hurdles | 12.46 |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 100m hurdles | 12.52 |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 2nd (sf) | 100m hurdles | 12.271 |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 3rd | 100m hurdles | 12.46 |
1Disqualified in the final
National Titles Won
- NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
- 60m hurdles: 2015
- NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
- 100m hurdles: 2015
See also
In Spanish: Kendra Harrison para niños
