Former University of Kentucky track stars won the gold and silver medals in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday morning.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who had set an Olympic record in the semifinals, outran world record holder Kendra Harrison. A photo finish was needed to separate Harrison from bronze medal winner Megan Tapper of Jamaica.
Camacho-Quinn, running for Puerto Rico, is that country’s first gold medal winner in an athletics event.
She finished in 12.37 seconds for a .15 second win over Harrison, who was .03 seconds ahead of Tapper. The Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton, a volunteer assistant coach for UK, finished sixth with a time of 12.74.
Camacho-Quinn finished in 12.26 seconds, fourth all-time, in the semifinals. Harrison’s world-record time was 12.20 seconds.
Camacho-Quinn kept the United States out of the win column at the Olympic track meet for yet another session. Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that competes under its own flag at the Olympics, has one more track gold medal than the deepest team at the Games as the meet approaches its halfway point.
The Lexington Herald-Leader
