Sunday was supposed to be Devon Allen’s time to shine. Instead, heartbreak on his home track ended his world championship run by the slimmest of margins.
The Oregon graduate and Philadelphia Eagles hopeful lined up for the 110m hurdles final at the world track and field championships in Eugene, Ore., with a chance to reach the podium. He was disqualified thanks to a false start imperceptible to the human eye.
Runners are not permitted to start within 0.1 second of the sound of the starting gun. Allen was caught reacting at 0.099, meaning he was disqualified by .001 seconds. A digital starting block — instead of a human judge — detected the violation.
When informed of his disqualification, he pleaded the case to multiple race officials. He was not allowed to compete due to protest. Booes from the Oregon crowd rained down on Hayward Field.
Instead of the originally intended eight finalists, the race ended up starting with six runners. Reigning Olympic champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica suffered a leg injury during the warm-up and also did not compete.
American and defending world champion Grant Holloway won the race in 13.03 seconds. American Trey Cunningham finished second (13.08 seconds), and Spaniard Acier Martinez finished third. (13.17).
Devon Allen speaks to reporters after being disqualified from the men’s 110m hurdles final. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Allen entered Sunday with the fastest time of the year and the third-fastest time of all time with a 12.84-second finish at the New York Grand Prix in June. He is a two-time Olympian with fifth place in Rio in 2016 and fourth place in Tokyo in 2021.
While his track season ended in disappointment, he will switch to his next challenge in Eagles training camp beginning July 26, where he hopes to make the roster as a 27-year-old rookie. In addition to running track, Allen played wide receiver at Oregon from 2014-16. He wasn’t an elite player, recording 54 catches for 919 yards and eight touchdowns in three seasons. But the Eagles were impressed when he ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at Oregon’s pro day and signed him to a deal.
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