Which athlete set a 12.20 world record in the 100 m hurdles at the London Athletics Meet?

Kendra Harrison set the 12.20-second 100 m hurdles world record at the London Athletics Meet. She ran the mark on 22 July 2016 at the Müller Anniversary Games, lowering Yordanka Donkova’s 28-year-old record of 12.21 seconds by one hundredth.

The performance was especially dramatic because Harrison had just missed the U.S. Olympic team. She finished sixth at the 2016 Olympic Trials after clipping a hurdle, so the London race became her immediate chance to turn disappointment into a historic achievement. Her American teammates Brianna Rollins, Kristi Castlin and Nia Ali followed her across the finish, but none matched Harrison’s time.

The result is often confused with Olympic-era performances by Ali or with later record-level runs by Tobi Amusan. Harrison’s 12.20 was set in London in 2016, before Amusan broke the world record with 12.12 seconds in the 2022 World Championships semifinals. Harrison later won Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020, held in 2021.