'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Like in the men’s event, the USA has been a dominant force in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Summer Olympics as well. Since the start of the 20th century, out of a possible 15, the USA has won as many as nine medals at the Summer Olympics.
Interestingly, like the men’s 100m hurdles, the equivalent discipline in the women’s segment is considered as the 100m hurdles. It is also to be noted that the women’s hurdles made its debut in the 1932 Summer Olympics as an 80m event.
The change came at the 1972 Summer Olympics when it was extended to 100m hurdles and has been the same since then. With Tokyo 2021 fast approaching, let’s take a look at the athletes who have dominated the race.
#3. Melissa Morrison (USA)
Medals won: G-0, S-0, B-2
Melissa Morrison has been a notable performer since her initial days. After excelling in several tournaments in the nineties, Morrison grabbed the headlines when she bagged bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics behind Olga Shishigina (Kazakhstan) and Gloria Alozie (Nigeria).
ALSO READ: Usain Bolt tops list of most successful male 200m sprinters at Summer Olympics
Her second medal at the Olympics came four years later when she repeated the same feat in Athens. Morrison finished in first and second place in the heats and semifinals respectively before losing the top spot in the final to compatriot Joanna Hayes by 0.14 seconds. Ukrainian Olena Krasovska took second spot.
#2. Yordanka Donkova (Bulgaria)
Medals won: G-1, S-0, B-1
A mother-of-three, Yordanka Donkova, suffered an accident during her childhood which cost two of her fingers in the right hand. But she never let the incident keep her away as she went on to become one of the most prominent figures in Bulgaria.
Donkova had been a consistent performer at the continental level for several years before her maiden Olympic gold came in the 1988 Seoul Games ahead of Gloria Siebert (East Germany) and Claudia Zackiewicz (West Germany).
However, she couldn’t replicate her performance in the next edition four years later in Barcelona, grabbing a third-place finish behind Voula Patoulidou (Greece) and LaVonna Martin (USA). It is also understood that Donkova was offered to represent the US after the 1988 edition but she refused.
#1. Johanna Schaller-Klier (East Germany)
Medals won: G-1, S-1, B-0
A legend in yesteryear, Johanna Schaller-Klier's first Olympic gold came in 1976 during the Montreal Summer Games ahead of Tatyana Anisimova and Natalya Lebedeva (both Soviet Union). Schaller-Klier once again made headlines at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow by grabbing the silver.
#1. Dawn Harper (USA)
Medals won: G-1, S-1, B-0
Trained by the famous Bob Kersee, Dawn Harper was destined to excel at the sports’ grandest stage. Harper’s maiden Olympics medal came at the 2008 Beijing Games when she beat Sally Pearson (Australia) and Canadian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep to gold.
Harper, who had also been a Pan American Junior champion in the event, suffered a knee injury in 2010 cutting short her season. However, the American came back strongly two years later in London to bag another Olympic medal, this time surrendering the gold to Pearson by just a narrow 0.02 seconds.
#1. Sally Pearson (Australia)
Medals won: G-1, S-1, B-0
Australian Sally Pearson has been one of the most dominant 100m hurdlers on the circuit. Making her international debut at the 2003 World Youth Championships, Pearson’s first Olympic medal came during the Beijing Games when she came second after Dawn Harper.
Thereafter, the 34-year-old took the world by storm, winning as many as 32 races from 34 starts in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympics. Expectedly, the Australian was at the top of the podium beating Harper by just 0.02 seconds. Kellie Wells took the bronze.
