Tinch steals 110mH from Franklin in photo finish
Cordell Tinch (12.993 seconds) beat out Bradley Franklin (12.997) by four hundredths of a second to win the men's 110m hurdles in a photo finish to cap the USATF Outdoor National Championships.
Video Transcript
Toyota USA TF Championships, it's the men's 110 meter hurdles.
Well, let's start right at the top with the world champ, Kordel Tench.
He's the world champ, he's the Diamond League champ, and he's trying to be national champion here.
The equal sixth fastest man ever at the distance with 12.87.
He hasn't broken 13 for the year.
He's only run 13.06.
It's probably gonna take sub-13 to win here.
Really good run in the prelims, in the semi, by this guy, starting in lane four, Kendrick Smallwood.
The NCAA runner-up ran 12.95 for second at NCAAs to join the sub-13 110 hurdle club.
This is his first appearance at a senior US championships, and he's made the final.
And in between Kordel Tench and Kendrick Smallwood, in lane five, is Bradley Franklin.
Just 20 years old, but they better watch for him in lane five.
He had the fastest time in the prelims, and took his personal best down from 13.19 to 13.04.
Just a sophomore at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
So can we go back?
We mentioned that Kordel Tench is the Diamond League champ and world champ, but he hasn't been a national champ, so he gets to join the likes of- Only one if he can do it, Devon Allen, Daniel Roberts, Grant Holloway, you know, Jacoby Tharp last year.
Yeah.
So this is big.
Yeah, he lost to Jacoby Tharp last year, which was a bit of an upset, 'cause he was on quite a roll.
Of course, we didn't know last year that Jacoby Tharp in another year would be the world record holder.
Yeah.
So this event has gone through some changes, Jacoby Tharp becoming the first to ever go under 12.8 for this event.
And this was a guy who was on the fringe of maybe not continuing in the sport.
Yeah.
Got convinced by friends and family to come back into it.
He's got his hands full here, make no mistake about it.
What'd you say before?
The kids are coming?
Kids are coming.
The kids are here.
Set.
National championship on the line- There it is in the men's 110 hurdles.
Kordel Tench has his work cut out, because Bradley Franklin is running well.
Franklin center of your screen.
This could be an upset.
Is he gonna upset the world champ?
Wow, right on the line.
Kordel Tench may have just stolen it.
What a finish.
He's laughing.
He's liking it.
He thinks he's got it.
National champion is Australia's Tench.
But let's wait and see.
Hurdlers tend to be some of the best leaners in our entire sport, and I think- Don't tell me that that the world champion may have leaned his way- Show me his time.
Come on to his first national title.
We're waiting on the photo, as is everybody else in the house.
20-year-old Bradley Franklin is saying, "Please let it be me."
Kordel Tench is walking around like he's got it.
And it is confirmed, the world champion gets his first national title, and it did take sub-13 to do it, 13.00.
And it's gone, it's gone further than that, hasn't it, in that photo?
It's gone to the thousandth of a second.
Prevaging moment of the meet as Kordel Tench celebrates his first national title.
Let's have a look at it.
This is like going back to Paris.
Four thousandths of a second.
Look at the great timed lean.
It's the torso across the line that gets you your position, and this time, the world champion had a perfectly timed lean.
Listen, before the gun went off, he said it.
Yes, he's the world champion, but America is so strong in this event, you don't know where the arrows are coming from.
And today, the arrow was coming from Franklin, but the world champion used his experience to have a much better lean.
If you lean early, sometimes it's not enough, and if you lean late, like Franklin did, it probably cost him the national title.
But it doesn't matter, four thousandths of a second separating first from second, Franklin and the young man on your screen here, Kordel Tench.
The collegian almost upset the world champion, who now, Lewis, is a national champion.
Finally a national champion.
I'm not sure if you know this, but over those last few steps, four thousandths of a second is what the victory was.
What are your thoughts about winning your first national championship, world champion?
Ah, you know, last year I was just l- worried about making the team this year.
I was debating running the final, just kind of wanted to come out here, show my face.
But I was like, you know, people are here, might as well go run.
Might as well go win.
Right.
You had an amazing confidence off the last step across the line.
How did you know that you had this?
I think all hurdlers can speak to it.
You just, when you get, when you start to get back into that rhythm, you feel how everything feels, where I knew when we crossed the line, it didn't matter how close it was, I knew I took first.
You got it.
Hey, congratulations, Kordel.
Thank you.
Way to close it off here in New York.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The 110 hurdles is in very good hands.
This event remains very, very strong for America, but I've been so impressed, Lee, by how many young Americans have stepped up this weekend in New York.
We've been saying less than two years to LA '28.
It's an exciting time
