# Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles

The men's 110 metres hurdles competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 7–8 August. Fifty-three athletes from 33 nations competed. The event was won by Aries Merritt of the United States, the nation's first championship in the event since 1996 and 19th overall. Hansle Parchment's bronze was Jamaica's first medal in the men's high hurdles.

## Summary

The qualifying round was notable for who was eliminated. In heat 3, Shamar Sands was in the lead until he hit the sixth hurdle, crashing into the next hurdle and somersaulting into a heap, making him one of three athletes in that heat not to make it to the finish line. In the fifth heat, Aries Merritt ran the fastest qualifying time by far with a 13.07. In the final heat, 2004 gold medalist Liu Xiang reminded viewers of his 2008 performance, failing to clear the first hurdle, and injuring his right achilles. After a minute on the track, Liu got up onto his left leg and hopped off the track. Refusing a wheelchair assist and medical attention, he returned to the track and hopped all the way to the final hurdle. Returning to his assigned lane 4, Liu kissed the top of the tenth hurdle, perhaps signifying the end of his Olympic career. He then hopped across the finish line, where he was assisted off the track by heat winner Andy Turner, Balázs Baji and Jackson Quiñónez.
The semifinal round was again dominated by Merritt running a 12.94. World record holder and defending champion Dayron Robles led Hansle Parchment to the Jamaican national record in 13.14. 13.31 qualified on time.
In the final, Robles and Merritt got the fastest starts but Merritt pulled ahead at hurdle 3, by hurdle 5 Robles was wincing in pain, pushing over the sixth hurdle and holding his leg. Merritt continued to a personal best 12.92 and a .12 win over reigning world champion Jason Richardson. Parchment took another .02 off his national record for the bronze, the rest of the field was not even close, more than a quarter of a second behind.
Merritt moves past Renaldo Nehemiah to become the #7 hurdler of all time.

## Background

This was the 27th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five finalists from 2008 returned: gold medalist Dayron Robles of Cuba, fourth-place finisher Ladji Doucouré of France, fifth-place finisher Artur Noga of Poland, seventh-place finisher Richard Phillips of Jamaica, and eighth-place finisher Jackson Quiñónez of Spain. The 2004 gold medalist Liu Xiang of China, who had been unable to run in the first round in 2008 due to injury, also returned. Favorites included Liu (who had taken second at the 2011 world championships), Robles (who still held the world record), Jason Richardson of the United States (who was the 2011 world champion), and Aries Merritt of the United States (who was undefeated in 2012, including the world indoor championships).
Honduras, Iran, and Lebanon each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 26th appearance, most of any nation (having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games).

## Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 3 qualified athletes in the men's 110 metres hurdles event if all athletes met the A standard, or 1 athlete if they met the B standard. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the qualifying period that had the approval of the IAAF. Only outdoor meets, not indoor meets, were eligible. The A standard for the 2012 men's 110 metres hurdles was 13.52 seconds; the B standard was 13.60 seconds. The qualifying period for was from 1 May 2011 to 8 July 2012. NOCs could also have an athlete enter the 110 metres hurdles through a universality place. NOCs could enter one male athlete in an athletics event, regardless of time, if they had no male athletes meeting the qualifying A or B standards in any men's athletic event.

## Competition format

Despite a larger field than past years, the competition narrowed from four rounds to three. The men's 110 metres hurdles competition consisted of heats (Round 1), semifinals, and a final. The fastest competitors from each race in the heats qualified for the semifinals along with the fastest overall competitors not already qualified that were required to fill the available spaces in the semifinals.

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world record, Olympic record, and world leading time were as follows:
| World record | Dayron Robles (CUB) | 12.87 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 12 June 2008 |
| Olympic record | Liu Xiang (CHN) | 12.91 | Athens, Greece | 27 August 2004 |
| World Leading | Aries Merritt (USA) | 12.93 (3) | Eugene, Oregon, United States (1), London, United Kingdom (2), Fontvieille, Monaco (3) | 30 June 2012 (1), 13 July 2012 (2), 20 July 2012 (3) |
The following national record was set during this competition.
| Jamaica National Record | Hansle Parchment (JAM) | 13.12 |

## Schedule

After two Games in which all rounds were on separate days, the 2012 schedule returned to having the semifinals and final on the same day.
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Tuesday, 7 August 2012 | 10:10 | Round 1 |
| Wednesday, 8 August 2012 | 19:15 21:15 | Semifinals Finals |

## Results
### Round 1

Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 6 fastest times (q) qualified.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 9 | Sergey Shubenkov | Russia | 0.157 | 13.26 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Konstadínos Douvalídis | Greece | 0.163 | 13.40 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Adrien Deghelt | Belgium | 0.158 | 13.52 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Garfield Darien | France | 0.171 | 13.54 | q |
| 5 | 3 | Paulo Villar | Colombia | 0.169 | 13.55 | q, SB |
| 6 | 6 | Matthias Bühler | Germany | 0.157 | 13.68 | |
| 7 | 7 | Shi Dongpeng | China | 0.150 | 13.78 | |
| 8 | 5 | David Ilariani | Georgia | 0.158 | 13.90 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.6 m/s | Wind: +0.6 m/s | Wind: +0.6 m/s |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Jason Richardson | United States | 0.192 | 13.33 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Lawrence Clarke | Great Britain | 0.160 | 13.42 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Maksim Lynsha | Belarus | 0.168 | 13.47 | Q, SB |
| 4 | 7 | Wayne Davis | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.169 | 13.52 | q |
| 5 | 9 | Andrew Riley | Jamaica | 0.174 | 13.59 | |
| 6 | 5 | João Carlos Almeida | Portugal | 0.116 | 13.69 | |
| 7 | 8 | Rouhollah Askari | Iran | 0.182 | 13.97 | |
| 8 | 1 | Ronald Forbes | Cayman Islands | 0.161 | 14.21 | |
| — | 4 | Enrique Llanos | Puerto Rico | DNF | DNF | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.8 m/s | Wind: +0.8 m/s | Wind: +0.8 m/s |

#### Heat 3

Ali Kamé was disqualified for false starting. Andrew Pozzi failed to finish the race. Shamar Sands crashed over the sixth hurdle; he eventually finished but was officially disqualified for not jumping each hurdle. Doucouré was obstructed by Sands and advanced to the semifinals.
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Orlando Ortega | Cuba | 0.158 | 13.26 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Hansle Parchment | Jamaica | 0.145 | 13.32 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Konstantin Shabanov | Russia | 0.140 | 13.63 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Ladji Doucouré | France | 0.170 | 13.67 | q |
| 5 | 7 | Mikel Thomas | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.135 | 13.74 | |
| 6 | 9 | Erik Balnuweit | Germany | 0.152 | 13.77 | |
| — | 5 | Andrew Pozzi | Great Britain | 0.143 | DNF | |
| — | 3 | Shamar Sands | Bahamas | 0.160 | 35.44 | DSQ |
| — | 1 | Ali Kamé | Madagascar | DSQ | DSQ | |
| | | | | Wind: +1.2 m/s | Wind: +1.2 m/s | Wind: +1.2 m/s |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 9 | Dayron Robles | Cuba | 0.172 | 13.33 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Lehann Fourie | South Africa | 0.159 | 13.49 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 2 | Jeff Porter | United States | 0.148 | 13.53 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Dimitri Bascou | France | 0.149 | 13.57 | q |
| 5 | 1 | Greggmar Swift | Barbados | 0.150 | 13.62 | |
| 6 | 6 | Alexander John | Germany | 0.195 | 13.67 | |
| 7 | 5 | Fawaz Al-Shammari | Kuwait | 0.174 | 14.00 | |
| 8 | 8 | Héctor Cotto | Puerto Rico | 0.158 | 14.08 | |
| 9 | 3 | Ahmad Hazer | Lebanon | 0.195 | 14.82 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Aries Merritt | United States | 0.142 | 13.07 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Ryan Brathwaite | Barbados | 0.166 | 13.23 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 2 | Xie Wenjun | China | 0.143 | 13.43 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | Emanuele Abate | Italy | 0.146 | 13.46 | q |
| 5 | 9 | Richard Phillips | Jamaica | 0.154 | 13.47 | q |
| 6 | 6 | Dániel Kiss | Hungary | 0.188 | 13.62 | |
| 7 | 5 | Aleksey Dremin | Russia | 0.151 | 13.75 | SB |
| 8 | 8 | Jeffrey Julmis | Haiti | 0.161 | 13.87 | |
| 9 | 4 | Ronald Bennett | Honduras | 0.207 | 14.45 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.7 m/s | Wind: +0.7 m/s | Wind: +0.7 m/s |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Andy Turner | Great Britain | 0.159 | 13.42 | Q |
| 2 | 9 | Selim Nurudeen | Nigeria | 0.141 | 13.51 | Q, PB |
| 3 | 8 | Gregory Sedoc | Netherlands | 0.157 | 13.52 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Balázs Baji | Hungary | 0.139 | 13.76 | |
| 5 | 3 | Jackson Quiñónez | Spain | 0.154 | 13.76 | SB |
| — | 2 | Shane Brathwaite | Barbados | 0.124 | DNF | |
| — | 4 | Liu Xiang | China | 0.123 | DNF | |
| — | 5 | Artur Noga | Poland | 0.173 | DNF | |
| — | 1 | Moussa Dembélé | Senegal | 0.167 | DSQ | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.4 m/s | Wind: +0.4 m/s | Wind: +0.4 m/s |

### Semifinals

Qual. rule: first 2 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Jason Richardson | United States | 0.160 | 13.13 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Orlando Ortega | Cuba | 0.151 | 13.26 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Lawrence Clarke | Great Britain | 0.159 | 13.31 | q, PB |
| 4 | 8 | Adrien Deghelt | Belgium | 0.142 | 13.42 | PB |
| 5 | 3 | Garfield Darien | France | 0.154 | 13.48 | |
| 6 | 2 | Wayne Davis | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.165 | 13.49 | |
| 7 | 7 | Konstadínos Douvalídis | Greece | 0.146 | 13.77 | |
| — | 9 | Gregory Sedoc | Netherlands | 0.189 | DNF | |
| | | | | Wind: -0.5 m/s | Wind: -0.5 m/s | Wind: -0.5 m/s |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Aries Merritt | United States | 0.147 | 12.94 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Ryan Brathwaite | Barbados | 0.159 | 13.23 | Q, SB |
| 3 | 9 | Xie Wenjun | China | 0.158 | 13.34 | PB |
| 4 | 6 | Andy Turner | Great Britain | 0.151 | 13.42 | |
| 5 | 5 | Selim Nurudeen | Nigeria | 0.153 | 13.55 | |
| 6 | 3 | Dimitri Bascou | France | 0.150 | 13.55 | |
| 7 | 2 | Paulo Villar | Colombia | 0.177 | 13.63 | |
| 8 | 8 | Konstantin Shabanov | Russia | 0.154 | 13.65 | |
| — | 1 | Richard Phillips | Jamaica | 0.146 | DNF | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s |

#### Semifinal 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Dayron Robles | Cuba | 0.162 | 13.10 | Q, SB |
| 2 | 5 | Hansle Parchment | Jamaica | 0.172 | 13.14 | Q, NR |
| 3 | 6 | Lehann Fourie | South Africa | 0.139 | 13.28 | q, PB |
| 4 | 2 | Emanuele Abate | Italy | 0.150 | 13.35 | |
| 5 | 9 | Jeff Porter | United States | 0.153 | 13.41 | |
| 6 | 4 | Sergey Shubenkov | Russia | 0.156 | 13.41 | |
| 7 | 8 | Maksim Lynsha | Belarus | 0.167 | 13.45 | PB |
| 8 | 3 | Ladji Doucouré | France | 0.189 | 13.74 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| | 6 | Aries Merritt | United States | 0.143 | 12.92 | PB |
| | 4 | Jason Richardson | United States | 0.194 | 13.04 | |
| | 7 | Hansle Parchment | Jamaica | 0.172 | 13.12 | NR |
| 4 | 2 | Lawrence Clarke | Great Britain | 0.169 | 13.39 | |
| 5 | 8 | Ryan Brathwaite | Barbados | 0.163 | 13.40 | |
| 6 | 9 | Orlando Ortega | Cuba | 0.135 | 13.43 | |
| 7 | 3 | Lehann Fourie | South Africa | 0.136 | 13.53 | |
| — | 5 | Dayron Robles | Cuba | 0.159 | DNF | |
| | | | | Wind: -0.3 m/s | Wind: -0.3 m/s | Wind: -0.3 m/s |