He began to rank in the global elite from 2007, with a personal best of 13.34 seconds giving him his first top 25 global ranking. He won the gold medal at the He recorded a time of 13.40 seconds in 2008 but did not compete internationally. His strongest season came in 2009 when he took two victories on the 2009 IAAF Golden League circuit: he improved his personal best multiple times, winning with 13.21 seconds at the Josef Odložil Memorial, 13.18 seconds at the ISTAF Berlin, then a lifetime best of 13.14 seconds at the Meeting Areva in Paris. The latter time made him the number one ranked athlete in the world, but he hit a hurdle at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which meant he was not selected for the World Championships team. He did however end the season with a silver medal at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final.