US Hurdler Dawn Harper Springs from Caribbean Roots

Olympic 100m Hurdles defending champion Dawn Harper of the U.S. has Caribbean roots, and it was news to her when she learned that her paternal grandfather [Thomas] is Jamaican. “Yes, I was surprised when my dad [Henry] told me,” she shared after the first of two press conferences in Manhattan, New York to introduce four athletes listed to compete at Saturday’s (28th) U.S. Open Track and Field meet at Madison Square Garden, the first event in the 2012 Visa Championship series.

The fast-finishing competitor from California via Illinois has competed in Jamaica only once, however, and said of that experience, “I truly enjoyed myself.” And understandably so; she won. On Saturday, the 2009 USA Outdoor champion and 2011 World Championships bronze medalist in the event will line up for the 50m challenge against Tiffany Porter of Great Britain, and a brigade of top American hurdlers that include Kellie Wells, Lolo Jones, Ginnie Crawford and Nia Ali.

So why does Harper prefer the fickle sprint hurdles race over the flat 100m? “Running flat is boring,” she said. “I love the feeling of going over the hurdle, especially when I execute it right. When I watch it, I say it’s poetry in motion.  And then when you run that good race, you feel like you’ve put your best out there and the world was able to see … like this is what I’ve trained for, and I really hope you guys enjoyed it.

In this Olympic year, Harper, who is still doing rehab for the knee surgery she underwent less than four months before the 2008 US Olympic trials, is focused on defending her title in London. For her, training for the World Championships is different from training for the Olympics. With the cream of the crop vying to reach the finals at this premier track and field event, this year is crucial and her coach Bob Kersee has to tweak her technique more than ever to make her the best.

“It has been four years since the last time I ran indoors,” she said, explaining that her coach wanted her to focus on her start during the indoor season. “We are really focusing on some things with that. It is very important for to see where I am. I normally rev up after three hurdles. It’s going to be good when the gun goes off.”

Focus on Self

And when she approaches the blocks she will be thinking only about herself. “The moment you start thinking about somebody else, you are already hitting a hurdle,” she theorizes. “I have ten hurdles that I have to think of before I think about any of those girls.” True enough, though, sometimes she visualizes who could be drawn in the lanes on both sides of her. However, on race day, those competitors are just bodies because she will be thinking solely about executing her move.

Regarding her rivals, Harper said the U.S. will always step up, but it would not be smart to act as if Australia’s Sally Pearson didn’t run 12.28. “Like me, everyone is thinking about what she has to do to get to 12.28, and if you are not, then you are not thinking about winning a medal.”

Just over two years ago, the bubbly but fiercely competitive Harper, a UCLA graduate, was really tested in how to handle losing a big race. After hitting the second hurdle and finishing seventh at the 2009 Berlin Worlds, she was badly crushed to the point of tears. A true champion, she managed to regain her composure quickly to face the media. To put that experience behind her, the key, she said, was to figure out what went wrong. Harper and her coach then figured it out together, and she went on to take bronze at the 2011 Daegu World Championships.