Overcoming the odds has been one of the strongest traits of 2015 world champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica. The 27-year-old, who will be competing in her fourth IAAF World Championships in Doha, recalls her journey leading up to her triumph in Beijing.
&ldquo;It was a special time for me because it was my first year being a professional,&rdquo; said Williams, who did not feature among the 20 fastest hurdlers at the time. &ldquo;I did not get to race a lot against the elite hurdlers all year and I probably had three competitions going into the world championships.&rdquo;
The thought of medalling was the furthest thing from Williams&rsquo; mind going into the championships, as she would have been satisfied just being a finalist. &ldquo;I knew I had what it took to make the final and was prepared to run a personal best to get there. Once I got to the final, my aim was just to compete as best as I could. If I had finished last in the race, I would have been satisfied,&rdquo; she reasoned.
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Danielle Williams wins the 100m hurdles at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015</div>
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Williams, who won the World University Games title a month earlier, admitted that she struggled to come to grips at first with what she had achieved but was happy she overcame many barriers, pun intended, which proved anything was possible.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I was the best person in the field, I was just the best person after three rounds and so I came out victorious. I was elated and I don&rsquo;t usually get excited but to know that moment proved I did belong and vindication that a division two athlete, which is a rare sight, could come out and take on the best in the world in their first year out of college and win was a happy feeling.&rdquo;
She became the second Jamaican woman behind Brigitte Foster-Hylton, the 2009 winner, to be crowned world champion in the 100m hurdles.
<h3>Roots in competitive Jamaican high school scene</h3>
This indomitable spirit was cultivated from the time she was a teenager competing for the Queen&rsquo;s School at the annual Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association Boys and Girls Championships (Champs) in Kingston, Jamaica. &ldquo;I credit champs a lot for building my character, because it is not the easiest environment to perform. It definitely helped build my confidence to perform under pressure,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;If you are able to thrive under that level of stress, in that atmosphere, then there is no other stadium in the world that you should go to and be afraid to compete.&rdquo;
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Danielle and Shermaine Williams after the 100m hurdles final at the IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015</div>
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The world number one ranked hurdler revealed that she came upon the discipline by chance in her first year at high school and never looked back. &ldquo;In my first year, the coach arranged some sticks and instructed us to jump over them and I was doing pretty well and so I continued at it. I liked the challenge because not many persons were doing the hurdles at the time and I decided to take it on and I fell in love with it.&rdquo;
<h3>Low-key collegiate experience a positive</h3>
After a successful athletics journey in high school, Williams moved overseas to take up an offer at Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina. She admitted going to the institution because her long-time coach Lennox Graham was working there. Williams believes the experience at the university was a great one and she has no regrets choosing that path.
&ldquo;It was fun and definitely different from high school athletics,&rdquo; stated Williams. &ldquo;There was no pressure for me to run fast every week which is something that I liked as compared to the division one track meets where every week you have to be on your game. At Johnson C. Smith, I could take things slow and run fast when it was necessary and that was what I really love about my college experience.&rdquo;
She describes herself as an introvert who does not crave the limelight, but would rather spend time with her close-knit group of friends who keep her grounded and give her maximum support.
Despite her 2015 success, Williams missed the Rio Olympic Games the following year, a setback that briefly haunted her.
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100m hurdles winner Danielle Williams at the IAAF Continental Cup</div>
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&ldquo;It was pretty frustrating for me as it was my first Olympic trials and coming off the momentum of winning worlds the year before, I was ready to launch my career to the next level. I was in good shape but mentally I was not where I needed to be as I had a lot of outside things going on and it reflected in my performance as I fell at the trials.&rdquo;
Williams believe that every year there is a lesson specifically geared towards her and in that particular moment of anguish she vowed to approach her task differently going forward. &ldquo;Nothing else matters other than the ten hurdles and once I&rsquo;m fit and ready to go there is hardly any outside interference that is really important.&rdquo;
<h3>2019&rsquo;s first goal: Diamond League title</h3>
Her mental fortitude endured a major roadblock at the Jamaican National Championships where she was penalised with a false start and subsequently faced ineligibility to the World Championships. Though the news came as a hiccup along her journey, it did not faze the tenacious Williams who duly focused on winning the Diamond League Trophy that she and her coach Lennox Graham had set as one of their objectives this season.
&ldquo;At the start of the season we knew that the World Championships was going to be late September to early October and so having competed on the circuit last year with relative success, we decided we were going to build on that this season,&rdquo; explained Williams.
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Danielle Williams on the way to her Diamond League title in Brussels</div>
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&ldquo;We decided to get in as many races as possible because after the Diamond League there is a lull in activity, so we needed to get as race sharp as possible. So the aim was to win the Diamond League final to get to the world championships and we did that and I cannot be any happier.&rdquo;
With Doha firmly in her crosshairs, Williams hopes her experience from previous editions will work to her advantage.
&ldquo;My first world championships I was a bit star struck just looking around and saying, &lsquo;Oh my gosh I&rsquo;m here&rsquo;. I am relaxed going into this one and I know what I am here to do and what I need to do. Hopefully, I can go out and execute the way I want to and get the best result.&rdquo;
Competition in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles begins with heats on Saturday (5) and continue with the semi-finals and final on Sunday (6).
Noel Francis for the IAAF

Overcoming the odds has been one of the strongest traits of 2015 world champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica. The 27-year-old, who will be competing in her fourth IAAF World Championships in Doha, recalls her journey leading up to her triumph in Beijing.

Surprise winner in 2015, Williams returns as the favourite in Doha

The two big headline events of the Muller Grand Prix did not disappoint as Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Danielle Williams came out on top in high-quality clashes at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham on Sunday (18).
Miler-Uibo, the Olympic 400m champion from The Bahamas, had been caught by Dina Asher-Smith by the half-way stage while two-time world champion Dafne Schippers also looked poised to strike.
But the long-striding Miller-Uibo kept her cool and reeled in Asher-Smith down the home straight, replicating her victory from last year. She crossed the line in 22.24 (0.4m/s), which would have surely been quicker in warmer conditions and on a faster track.
Asher-Smith held on for second place in 22.36 with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce completing the double-barrelled podium with 22.50. Schippers was a few strides behind in 22.81.
&ldquo;The race didn't go to plan,&rdquo; said Miller-Uibo, who set a meeting record of 22.15 when winning here last year. &ldquo;My start was just horrible and I had to rely on that 400m strength to get through.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m feeling good. Before the race we had an idea of how we wanted the race to go and it didn't go as planned so I&rsquo;m happy for the win and ready to move on to the next.&rdquo;
Williams&rsquo; win in the 100m hurdles was even more decisive. The Jamaican comfortably advanced from the heats earlier in the afternoon, but the same could not be said of world record-holder Kendra Harrison, who placed fourth in her heat in 12.93, only making it through as a non-automatic qualifier.
Harrison&rsquo;s run in the final was much better and she was level with Williams at half way, but had no response as the Jamaican pulled away over the last few barriers.
Williams stopped the clock at 12.46, equalling Harrison&rsquo;s meeting record from 2016. Harrison finished second in 12.66 with Tobi Amusan placing third in 12.71.
&ldquo;To be honest, I didn't execute that well,&rdquo; said Williams, the 2015 world champion. &ldquo;I banged my knee on one of the hurdles, but I came away with the win so I&rsquo;m happy. Every time I&rsquo;ve been racing, I've been consistent with my times and that is the main thing for me.&rdquo;
Harrison was simply pleased to be able to put her earlier run behind her.
&ldquo;I struggled in the first round, but I was able to come back,&rdquo; said the world indoor champion. &ldquo;I was in lane two and she [Williams] couldn't see me and I couldn't see her, so I had to keep going because I knew she would keep pushing me. At the next Diamond League I hope we can be next each other and bring out a good performance.&rdquo; 
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Danielle Williams on her way to winning the 100m hurdles at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham</div>
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<h3>Sprint wins for Jamaica&rsquo;s Blake, Bloomfield and McLeod</h3>
In what was possibly one of the closest ever men&rsquo;s 100m races in IAAF Diamond League history, just 0.10 separated all eight finalists and 0.008 split the top two.
In the end, Jamaica&rsquo;s 2011 world champion Yohan Blake was given the verdict over Britain&rsquo;s Adam Gemili as both were timed at 10.07 (2.0m/s). USA&rsquo;s Michael Rodgers was close behind in third place with 10.09. 
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Yohan Blake (right) wins the 100m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham</div>
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Four weeks after his victory in London, Akeem Bloomfield completed the British IAAF Diamond League double, taking the 400m in Birmingham in 45.04. It was some way off his 44.40 season&rsquo;s best but was comfortably enough for the Jamaican to win from USA&rsquo;s Obi Igbokwe, who ran 45.53 to edge Britain&rsquo;s Matt Hudson-Smith by 0.02.
Bloomfield&rsquo;s win guaranteed him a spot in the IAAF Diamond League final, while USA&rsquo;s Kahmari Montgomery and Michael Cherry, fourth and fifth respectively with 45.59 and 45.61, also did enough to qualify for the final.
It might not have been one of the fastest 400m hurdles races of the 2019 IAAF Diamond League, but it was certainly one of the closest with just 0.21 separating the top three. And in the absence of the world&rsquo;s three fastest men, it was an opportunity for the best of the rest to move up the Diamond League leader board.
USA&rsquo;s David Kendziera had a slight lead at half way, but Turkey&rsquo;s Yasmani Copello came through in the final 100 metres to move into the lead. Brazilian youngster Alison Santos, who was down in sixth place at half way, finished strongly to take second place in 49.20, 0.09 ahead of Kendziera. 
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Yasmani Copello at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham</div>
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After an up-and-down start to his season, world and Olympic champion Omar McLeod showed his preparations for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 are back on track.
The Jamaican, who moved to Rana Reider&rsquo;s training group just a matter of weeks ago, put together a strong race to win the non-scoring 110m hurdles in 13.21, winning by 0.10 from USA&rsquo;s Freddie Crittenden. It was McLeod&rsquo;s first win since the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, which was followed by four successive defeats. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m in a new environment,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;m ready to go again.&rdquo;
Germany&rsquo;s Tatjana Pinto passed two newly-crowned US sprint champions in the final stages of the women&rsquo;s 100m to win in 11.15 (-0.9m/s). Dezerea Bryant, the US 200m champion, had the best start and was ahead of US 100m champion Teahna Daniels at half way. But Pinto came striding through in the closing stages to finish 0.06 ahead of Bryant with Daniels a further 0.03 in arrears.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

The two big headline events of the Muller Grand Prix did not disappoint as Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Danielle Williams came out on top in high-quality clashes at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham on Sunday (18).

Miller-Uibo victorious in Birmingham sprint showdown – IAAF Diamond League

Sizzling hurdles performances by Danielle Williams and Karsten Warholm highlighted the first day of action at the Muller Anniversary Games in London Stadium on Saturday (20).
In the 100m hurdles, Williams, the 2015 world champion, was on fire from the outset en route to a sensational 12.32 performance to cap what was by far the finest day of the 26-year-old&rsquo;s career.
Arriving in the British capital with a 12.48 lifetime best, she dispensed with that in the heats 55 minutes earlier where she clocked 12.41 after coasting through the finish. Her winning time in the final elevated Williams to No. 7 on the all-time list while supplanting Janeek Brown as Jamaican record holder.
&ldquo;It has been coming all season and it was just about when,&rdquo; said Williams, who shattered Brown&rsquo;s six-week-old 12.40 national record. &ldquo;This track is a fast track and the fact that we get two opportunities because of the heats, you can fix what you did wrong and get ready for the final.&rdquo;
Nia Ali of the US was a distant second in 12.57 ahead of compatriot Queen Claye who clocked 12.64 in third.
<h3>Another European record for Warholm&nbsp;</h3>
Twelve minutes earlier, Warholm blitzed to a world-leading 47.12 in the 400m hurdles to shatter the European record for the second time in as many races to also move to, like Williams, to the No 7 spot all-time.
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Karsten Warholm en route to his 47.12 European record in London</div>
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The contest wasn&rsquo;t a scoring event for Diamond League points, but his chief rivals will nonetheless take note of the Norwegian&rsquo;s latest exploit, this time coming on the same track where he clawed his way to the 2017 world title.
With a clear lead as he approached the first hurdle, Warholm forged on, producing the relentless early race attack that has become his trademark. But this time, as he scorched off the final turn, a solitary figure, he didn&rsquo;t notably slow. The toll of his early pace did finally begin to show as Warholm reached hard to maintain his rhythm as he approached the ninth barrier and then stutter slightly as he approached the tenth. But he nonetheless managed to clip a massive 0.21 from the European record he set in Oslo five weeks ago.
&ldquo;I always try to surprise but at the same time it's not a given,&rdquo; said Warholm, who won b nearly two seconds. &ldquo;It takes hard work, dedication and a lot for me to get out those extraordinary times.&rdquo;
Yasmani Copello of Turkey was a distant second in 48.93, with USA's Amere Lattin third in 49.18.
<h3>Middle distance wins for Muir and Rotich</h3>
Closing with an impressive 57.3 final lap, Laura Muir took the women&rsquo;s 1500m in 3:58.25 to collect her second Diamond League win of the season.
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Laura Muir takes another 1500m win in London</div>
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The Scot was running about even with Moroccan Rababe Arafi and Konstanze Klosterhalfen at the bell before taking the lead as she entered the backstretch. While Arafi soon dropped off the pace, the German was in hot pursuit until midway through the home straight, eventually fading to fifth. Keyan Winny Chebet closed well to finish second in 3:59.93, as did Gabriela Debues-Stafford, whose 4:00.26 in third was a Canadian national record.
Ferguson Rotich took command of the Diamond League 800m standings with a decisive 1:43.14 victory. The Kenyan took the lead with just over 100 metres remaining, holding off his quick finishing compatriot Wyclife Kinyamal, who clocked 1:43.48. It was the third fastest career performance for Rotich, a 2016 Olympic finalist, and a season&rsquo;s best for Kinyamal.
An anticipated battle between world leader Nijel Amos of Botswana and Emmanuel Korir, last year&rsquo;s top 800m runner, never materialised. Amos pulled up less than 200 metres into the race, clutching his right hamstring before falling to the track while Korir, still feeling the effects of a serious automobile accident he was involved in three weeks ago, was never in the hunt, finishing a distant eighth in 1:44.75.
<h3>Akani takes 100m showdown&nbsp;</h3>
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Akani Simbine (2nd from right) wins the London Diamond League 100m</div>
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African champion Akani Simbine notched his first Diamond League win of the season, holding off Briton Zharnel Hughes 9.95 to 9.97, season&rsquo;s bests for both. In a blanket finish, just 0.02 separated the next three across the line, with 2009 world champion Yohan Blake third in 9.97, ahead of Japan&rsquo;s Yuki Koiek (9.98) and Canada&rsquo;s Andre De Grasse (9.99), a personal best for the former and season&rsquo;s best for the latter.
Rounding out the sprints, Jamaican champion Shericka Jackson held off compatriot Stephanie Ann McPherson to take the 400m, 50.69 to 50.74, to take her first Diamond League win of the season. Briton Laviai Nielsen clocked a 50.83 personal best to finish third.
<h3>Infield wins for Sidorova, Pichardo and Khaladovich</h3>
Competition in the field events was close across the programme.
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Anzhelika Sidorova wins in London</div>
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Neutral athlete Anzhelika Sidorova took the pole vault on countback over Katerina Stefanidi at 4.75m, a season&rsquo;s best for the latter.
Tatsiana Khaladovich of Belarus prevailed in a close women&rsquo;s javelin contest, reaching 66.10m in the third round to beat Australian Kelsey-Lee Barber, who threw 65.85. in the final round. German Christin Hussong was third with 65.73m.
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Pedro Pablo Pichardo jumps to victory in London</div>
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In the men&rsquo;s triple jump, Pedro Pablo Pichardo won the latest round in his ongoing rivalry with world and Olympic champion Christian Taylor, the Portuguese bounding 17.53m with his fourth jump. Taylor&rsquo;s best of 17.19m came in round six.
<h3>Hagos holds off Ingebrigtsen in hot 5000m</h3>
There was plenty of solid action off of the Diamond League progamme.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s been a good week for Hagos Gebrhiwet. On Wednesday the 25-year-old Ethiopian clocked a world-leading 26:48.95 to take a competitive 10,000m race in Hengelo and today out-kicked Jakob Ingebrigtsen over a sizzling last lap battle to win the 5000m here.
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Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Hagos Gebrhiwet battle in London</div>
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10km phenom Rhonex Kipruto, running in his debut over the shorter distance, took command as the field passed the 3000m point, and led until the penultimate lap, when Ingebrigtsen, the European champion, took the lead with just over 500 metres to go. The Norwegian teenager tried to build a small gap with the move, but Gebrhiwet reacted quickly to stay in contact. The Ethiopian then made his bid with 250 metres remaining and while he couldn&rsquo;t quite shake Ingebrigtsen, he did hold him for the 13:01.86 win. Ingebrigtsen clocked a national record 13:02.03 in second.&nbsp;
Nicholas Kimeli of Kenya was third in 13:05.48 with Australian Stewart McSweyn next in 13:05.63
In the long jump, world champion Luvo Manyonga improved his season's best to 8.37m in the fifth round to eek out a victory ahead of Jamaican Tajay Gayle, who reached an 8.32m lifetime best in round three.
"I was a little scared and I was holding back to start," said Manyonga, who added two centimetres to his 2019 best. "At the beginning I need to test my ankle as I was not sure my ankle could handle it but, I said to myself, 'just jump because this is where I was crowned world champion'."
Olympic champion and 2019 world leader at 22.00 Elaine Thompson was a convincing winner in the 200m, clocking 22.13. Marie-Josee Ta Lou was second in 22.36, a season's best.
And finally, Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made up a 15-metre deficit to anchor a Jamaican quartet to a 42.29 victory in the 4x100 relay, to edge a British squad by a scant 0.01.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Sizzling hurdles performances by Danielle Williams and Karsten Warholm highlighted the first day of action at the Muller Anniversary Games in London Stadium on Saturday (20).

Williams blazes 12.32, Warholm improves to 47.12 in London - IAAF Diamond League

After lowering his colours to Sam Kendricks and Renaud Lavillenie at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on Saturday, world champion Shawn Barber will be hoping for a change of fortune at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Beijing on Wednesday (18).
Barber will be returning to the Bird&rsquo;s Nest stadium for the first time since winning at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015.
&ldquo;To come back, to see some of the signage from last year still around, it makes me very excited,&rdquo; Barber said on Tuesday.
Last August, it was Barber upsetting Lavillenie to take the world title. Last Saturday, it was Kendricks upstaging the Franch star, with Barber in third place.
Barber, Kendricks and Piotr Lisek, fifth in Shanghai, will all compete in Beijing. Barber tops this year&rsquo;s world outdoor list at 5.91m, and has jumped 6.00m indoors this year, but could manage no higher than 5.70m in Shanghai as Kendricks cleared an outdoor personal best of 5.88m.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve brought in a good field,&rdquo; said Barber, adding that he was happy with his own form and looking forward to Wednesday&rsquo;s competition. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m healthy. I&rsquo;m jumping very well. I want to get out and put a height up there.&rdquo;
The Beijing meeting will see the return of several other world champions to the Bird's Nest stadium.
Ezekiel Kemboi, who won his fourth-straight world title last August, is listed for the 3000m steeplechase, Danielle Williams in the 100m hurdles and Katharina Molitor in the javelin.
<h3>Ahoure turns attention to 100m</h3>
After defeating Veronica Campbell-Brown to win the 200m in Shanghai, Murielle Ahoure turns her focus to the 100m in Beijing.
With a season&rsquo;s best of 11.02, when finishing fourth at the opening IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha earlier this month, Ahoure enjoys an advantage over her closest rivals on time.
Candyce McGrone, fourth in the 200m at the World Championships last year, is closest to Ahoure on times with 11.13 this year.
Campbell-Brown was annoyed with herself after losing in Shanghai, suggesting she should learn to back off a little in her training. She gets a chance to atone in the 200m here, in which her main rivals appear to be Simone Facey and Tiffany Townsend.
The only men&rsquo;s sprint on the programme is the 100m in which world silver medallist Justin Gatlin heads the field.
Gatlin ran an easy-looking 9.94 to win in Shanghai. Despite the addition of Chinese record-holder Zhang Peimeng to the field, there seems little likelihood of that pecking order being changed here.
With warmer weather and a faster track here, the interest will be in what time Gatlin can run.
<h3>Zhang aiming for home town glory</h3>
Three of the top four finishers from last year's World Championships will reunite in the women's hammer, part of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.
China's world silver medallist Zhang Wenxiu may need to improve on her season's best of 71.98m if she is to take victory on home soil as USA's Amber Campbell, Moldova's Zalina Marghieva and Azerbaijan's Hanna Skydan have all thrown farther than Zhang this year.
World bronze medallist Alexandria Tavernier, British record-holder Sophie Hitchon and North American record-holder Amanda Bingson are also capable of challenging for victory and scoring valuable challenge points.
<h3>Williams' return highlights hurdles</h3>
One of the pleasant shocks of last year&rsquo;s World Championships was the victory of Danielle Williams in the 100m hurdles, the Jamaican beating a field of nominally faster opponents in 12.57.
Williams is back here for the World Challenge meeting, along with her half-sister Shermaine, who was seventh in the World Championships final.
Danielle Williams has run &lsquo;only&rsquo; 13.05 this year, but as that was into a -2.8m/s headwind, it was likely to be far better than it looked. Indeed, she followed it with a wind-assisted 12.55 in Kingston.
As ever in China, the men&rsquo;s hurdles will also be an attraction of the meeting.
World record-holder and Olympic champion Aries Merritt has stayed on after Shanghai and will be keen to record a performance after his false-start disqualification there.
USA's 2011 world champion Jason Richardson is also in the field while China will again look to Xie Wenjun, third in Shanghai.
<h3>Kenyans the favourites in the middle distances</h3>
World youth champion Willy Tarbei, who does not turn 18 until 30 May, will attract plenty of interest in the men&rsquo;s 800m.
The Kenyan teenager ran a season&rsquo;s best of 1:44.84 in Herzogenaurach on Saturday, though his best is the 1:44.51 he ran in Nairobi last year at the Kenyan youth selection trials.
Foremost among his older opponents here are the US pair of Eric Sowinski and Nick Symmonds, both looking to bounce back after the strange race in Shanghai.
Hellen Obiri ran 3:59.34 behind her Kenyan compatriot Faith Kipyegon in Shanghai last Saturday and looks the pick of the women&rsquo;s 1500m field provided she has recovered well from that effort.
Morocco&rsquo;s Siham Hilali and UAE&rsquo;s Betlhem Desalegn are among those hoping that fresh legs work to their advantage.
Kemboi looks the pick of the steeplechase field, which is not hard when you have won gold or silver at the past seven World Championships, as well as gold at the London 2012 Olympics Games. Abraham Kibiwott and John Koech, third and fourth in Doha in personal best times below 8:10.00, will be looking to capitalise on any early season rustiness on the great man&rsquo;s part.
<h3>Molitor, Mitchell, Li and Lyu head javelin field</h3>
China will have high hopes of a win in the women&rsquo;s javelin, in which Li Lingwei and Lyu Huihui are up against Germany&rsquo;s world champion Katharina Molitor and Australia&rsquo;s Kathryn Mitchell.
A more likely source of home victory might be the men&rsquo;s high jump in which Zhang Guowei and Wang Yu will be competing. The pair share the world lead at 2.33m, along with Erik Kynard.
There will also be good chances in the long jump where Shanghai winner Gao Xinglong, world bronze medallist Wang Jianan and Li Jinzhe are up against last year&rsquo;s world leader Jeff Henderson and Jarvis Gotch, the latter having jumped 8.24m this year.
The women&rsquo;s high jump features a rematch between Shanghai first and second-place finishers Levern Spencer and Nadiya Dusanova.
Len Johnson for the IAAF

After lowering his colours to Sam Kendricks and Renaud Lavillenie at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on Saturday, world champion Shawn Barber will be hoping for a change of fortune at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Beijing on Wednesday (18).

Barber gets chance to bounce back on his return to Beijing 

Statisticians A Lennart Julin and Mirko Jalava look back on the best hurdles performances of the year.<h3>Men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles</h3>The 110m hurdles is probably the most competitive event in the sense that there is a fairly large group of evenly-matched athletes who face each other day in and day out during the summer.Consequently, the seven IAAF Diamond League races in 2015 saw five different winners and only in the season-ending finale in Zurich did the winning margin exceed 0.07.The magical 13-second barrier was, for the first time ever, surpassed by four runners in the same year. Veteran David Oliver did it for the third time while Orlando Ortega, Omar McLeod and Sergey Shubenkov were new to the sub-13 club. The event is at an all-time high in terms of depth, which is underlined by the fact that there were also three more hurdlers just missing out on going sub-13 by a few hundredths of a second.The tightness of the top group was further illustrated at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015, where the three medals went to athletes who had not won any of the six preceding IAAF Diamond League races. Shubenkov, Hansle Parchment and Aries Merritt all peaked to perfection by running their fastest times of the year in the Beijing final. The USA remains the leading nation in this event, but Jamaica and France are really putting up ever stronger challenges. In the Beijing final, the USA was three and seven, Jamaica two and six and France had three finalists who did not win medals.The season-long Diamond Race went to Oliver, who won at the IAAF Diamond League meetings in Shanghai and New York. <h3>Men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles</h3>In contrast to its closest relatives &ndash; the 400m and the 110m hurdles &ndash; this event currently lacks the usual top quality and in the past two years together there has been only one single performance below 48 seconds.However, this year it was perfectly timed as Nicholas Bett &ndash; despite running &lsquo;blind&rsquo; in the outside lane &ndash; took off a full half-second from his best when flying around Beijing&rsquo;s Bird&rsquo;s Nest stadium to the gold medal in 47.79. Bett&rsquo;s triumph was one of the major sensations of the whole championships, as he had only once before been under even 49 seconds.In the lead-up to the World Championships, Bershawn Jackson (three wins, one second place in the IAAF Diamond League) and Johnny Dutch (two wins, one third place) had shown the best consistency but both these experienced USA runners were eliminated early in Beijing. Instead, the whole podium was a complete surprise with Bett being joined by Russia&rsquo;s Denis Kudryavtsev, who lowering his pre-Beijing best by 0.61 to 48.05 for the silver medal, and The Bahamas&rsquo; Jeffery Gibson, who improved his best by 0.34 to 48.17 for the bronze.It will be interesting to see if the old guard of Jackson, Dutch, Javier Culson, Michael Tinsley or Kerron Clement will be able to reclaim podium positions of yesteryear in Rio or if the Beijing results preclude a new generation coming through permanently. Next year, Beijing finalists Boniface Tumuti and Patryk Dobek, as well as Thomas Barr, may well make a major breakthrough from their current level.Jackson&rsquo;s early season from was enough to secure him the Diamond Race although Gibson won the final in Brussels.<h3>Women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles</h3>It was an extraordinary summer with seriously fast times early in the season by two Americans and then a most unexpected winner in Beijing with a relatively modest result. Jasmin Stowers was the first one out of her blocks. The 24-year-old only had a 12.71 personal best before 2015, but the US indoor title in 7.84 in 60m hurdles clearly indicated she had made progress. Nevertheless, running a world-leading 12.40 at the Drake Relays at the end of April still caused shockwaves as Stowers cut 0.31 seconds off her personal best in just one meeting and immediately followed that with another 12.39 in Kingston and then 12.35 in at the IAAF Diamond League in&nbsp; Doha a week later.However, Stowers stumbled in her next competition in Rome in June and never got back to the same form, also missing qualifying for the US team for the world championships.The Rome race also saw Australia&rsquo;s London 2012 Olympic Games champion Sally Pearson fall and severely break her left wrist in the same race, which ended her season.From this point, it was the turn of Sharika Nelvis to be the one on top. The 25-year-old flew to a time of 12.34 in the heats of the US trials, which would stand up as the fastest time in 2015, although she could only finished third in the US trials final and went on to finish eighth in Beijing.With such fast times on the table, what happened in Beijing was a shock. The favourites were falling right and left during the three rounds, and through the debris 23-year-old Jamaican Danielle Williams emerged to snatch an unexpected gold medal in a personal best of 12.57,the slowest winning time at a world championships since Helsinki 2005 when there was cold and rainy weather. Germany&rsquo;s Cindy Roleder was as big a surprise, getting silver in a 12.59 PB, while Alina Talay won the bronze for Belarus in a national record 12.66.&rsquo;<h3>Women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles</h3>USA&rsquo;s 20-year-old 2014 world junior champion Shamier Little was the talk of the early season with her long win-streak but despite winning at the US trials and Pan American Games, it was thought she might not do as well in Beijing owing to her very long season.However, the Texas A&amp;M student proved everyone wrong in Beijing and after some trouble in the heats and semi-final, she ended with a perfect race in the final, where she won the silver medal in 53.94, just 0.2 seconds slower than the 53.74 personal best she clocked for the NCAA title in June.The person who beat her though, Czech Republic&rsquo;s Zuzana Hejnova, was the clear number one in this event. The 28-year-old suffered two early season defeats with third place finishes at IAAF Diamond League meetings in Birmingham and Oslo but these were followed by four straight wins before Beijing and there she had absolutely no trouble in successfully defending her 2013 world title in the final, which she won in a world-leading time of 53.50.Hejnova capped her 2015 season with another win in Zurich to also take the Diamond Race, This year&rsquo;s revelation in this event was Denmark's 28-year-old Sara Petersen, who became a mother in 2013 and returned to competition during 2014.Her outdoor opener was 55.73, was a mere 0.05 off her 2012 national record and she went on to improve this mark in her next four races: 55.23 in Geneva, 55.13 in Stara Zagora, 54.79 in Sopot and then a stunning 53.99 finish behind Hejnova at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Paris. Petersen finished in fourth place in Beijing in 54.20, just losing the bronze medal to the USA&rsquo;s Cassandra Tate, who clocked 54.02 for third and just 0.01 off her personal best set at the US Championships and Beijing trials in June.A Lennart Julin (men&rsquo;s events) and Mirko Jalava (women&rsquo;s events) for the IAAF

Statisticians A Lennart Julin and Mirko Jalava look back on the best hurdles performances of the year.

2015 end-of-year reviews – hurdles

When it comes to making athletics a family affair, no one can better the
Borlees. Brothers Kevin, Jonathan and youngster Dylan were all in Beijing and
competed together in the 4x400m, the two older brothers having reached the
semi-finals in the individual event.But the Borlees were not the only high-profile siblings here as the final
of the 100m hurdles saw athletics&rsquo; own Williams sisters getting into the act,
with victory going to Jamaican 22-year-old Danielle in a personal best of
12.57, and 25-year-old older sister Shermaine finishing seventh in 12.95.Britain too had sisters involved in the event, with 27-year-old European
champion Tiffany Porter finishing fifth in 12.68, and her younger sister Cindy
Ofili, 21,&nbsp; finishing sixth in her
semi-final in 12.91.Something of a coincidence. But then this event has been curiously
&ldquo;sibling-rich&rdquo; over the years. Swedish twin sisters Susanna and Jenny Kallur
(the older by four minutes) were a major force in high hurdles a few years
back, particularly indoors. Susanna, who
holds the world indoor 60m hurdles record of 7.68, set in Karlsruhe in 2008,
won gold at the 2006 European Championships on home soil in Gothenburg.At the
previous year&rsquo;s European Indoor Championships in Madrid, she won gold in 7.80 &ndash;
a title she would successfully defend two years later &ndash; with Jenny taking
silver in 7.99. The
parallels between these twins &ndash; whose father is ice hockey player Anders
Kallur, who won four Stanley Cup championships with the New York Islanders &ndash;
extended beyond the track.Before
concentrating on athletics, both were members of the Swedish junior national gymnastics
team. And in 2008, bizarrely, they suffered identical stress fractures in their
shin.A quarter of
a century before these twins were on track, Polish sisters Grazyna and Elzbieta
Rabsztyn were making a name for themselves in the high hurdles. The bigger name
was that of Grazyna, who set two world records in the 100m hurdles, clocking
12.48 in 1978 and reducing that mark two years later to 12.36, which remains a
Polish record and still sees her in the all-time top 10 performers.She also won
the IAAF World Cup in 1977 and 1979, and the Summer Universiade on three
consecutive occasions between 1973 and 1977. In 1981, her sister took bronze in
the latter competition.As far as the Williams sisters are concerned, the record between them
now stands at eight wins each &ndash; but it seems the balance has tipped
significantly towards the younger sister, who also set a personal best of 12.58
in qualifying fastest for the final, and who prepared for these championships
by winning the World University Games title.Williams is studying Business and Sports Management at Johnson C Smith University in
Charlotte, North Carolina, from which Shermaine graduated in biology.Both train
in North Carolina with coach Lennox Graham, getting back home to see their
family in Jamaica whenever they can.In the wake
of her victory in a final which &ndash; contrary to all expectations &ndash; ended with no
US athlete in the top three (defending champion Brianna Rollins finished
fourth), the gold medallist was bubbling with excitement, although much of it
was on behalf of other members of her family.&ldquo;It is an amazing feeling
having your sister competing with you and against you, especially when you both
reach the final at the Worlds,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m more than happy to be racing
against her here. She is a great competitor. She is my sibling and she is the
person who pushed me to start in athletics. She was first to congratulate me
after the finish. She said &lsquo;Great going, proud of you.&rsquo;&ldquo;I have to give thanks to her for guiding me on this path. We
train together every day, compete together, share all these moments together.
It was so special that we were together in this final. There will be a big
celebration for sure as soon as I get home. My family is dancing, shouting,
celebrating &ndash; it seems they are even happier than I am.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m training with Lennox
Graham and I stay there for about 11 months during the year. But I think
winning the Worlds is great reason to visit my home, even for a short stay!&rdquo;All the
predictions before the seventh day of competition &ndash; when 2008 Olympic champion
Dawn Harper Nelson of all people failed to negotiate hurdle two in the
semi-finals, and Keni Harrison was disqualified from her semi for a false start
&ndash; were for a US victory.The eventual
winner explained how she also had not foreseen a medal, never mind a golden
one.&ldquo;Going to Beijing I had
only one dream; I wanted to make it to the final,&rdquo; said Williams. &ldquo;After the Jamaican
trials, my coach let me go to the World University Games and then come back
directly for training. I think that was the right decision as we were able to
prepare for Beijing as thoroughly as we needed.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am sure
when I came here nobody knew who I was. But this is the World Championships, so
once you stand on the start line, anything can happen. There are 10 hurdles and
there are no real favourites or rivals. I just tried to fix whatever my
mistakes were. &ldquo;When I
crossed the line, I had no idea I had won. Then I just saw my name up there on
the big screen and it was a great feeling. I still cannot believe it.&rdquo;After her trip back to Jamaica
to celebrate, attention will return to the impending Olympics, where there'll
be much higher expectations."I won't focus on the
expectations. I'll continue to be my level-headed self," she said.
"Hopefully in Rio 2016 I'll be Olympic champion.&rdquo;Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF

When it comes to making athletics a family affair, no one can better the Borlees. Brothers Kevin, Jonathan and youngster Dylan were all in Beijing and competed together in the 4x400m, the two older brothers having reached the semi-finals in the individual event.

Williams sisters keeping up family tradition in the sprint hurdles

The last race of Friday&rsquo;s evening session produced arguably one of the biggest upsets of the day, as none of the principal pre-race favourites finished in the top-three.The defending champion from 2013, Brianna Rollins, had a quick and aggressive start, but knocked the very first hurdle down with her lead leg, quickly conceding the lead to Jamaica&rsquo;s Danielle Williams, running on Rollins' outside in lane four.Nevertheless, over the first four hurdles, Rollins stayed close contention for a medal. As the race went on, the bronze medallist in Moscow two years ago, Tiffany Porter and the 2012 European champion Alina Talay from Belarus running in lane one, were making ground on the leaders. But Williams, in her first major championships final, was at her absolute best.The Jamaican, who came to Beijing after winning her national title and then the World University Games gold medal in the last couple of months, was powering over the hurdles, refusing to concede even a centimetre of her lead.Williams&nbsp;&ndash; whose
younger sister Danielle was also in the final and finished seventh &ndash; crossed the finish line first, clocking 12.57, a personal best by 0.01. She returned the gold medal in this event to her island for the first time since 2009, when Brigitte Foster-Hylton won the world title in Berlin.Porter looked poised for much of the race to take second, but she made a mistake off the last hurdles and, trying to out-lean the rivals few steps too early, the Briton lost her balance and somersaulted across the line. This fall probably cost the experienced Briton a medal, as Germany&rsquo;s Cindy Roleder and Talay were impressively surging forward over the last metres of the race.The 2014 European Championships bronze medallist Roleder improved her personal best by 0.2, clocking 12.59, clutching her hands to her face immediately after the finish in almost stunned disbelief.Talay ran 12.66 for third, bringing her country its first ever world championships medal in this event. She also equalled the long-standing national record set in 1990 by Lidia Yurkova.It was the first time since 1997 that two European athletes gained world championships medals in this event.Defending champion Rollins ended up in fourth, just 0.01 behind Talay, while Porter was fifth in 12.68.Elena Dyachkova for the IAAF

The last race of Friday’s evening session produced arguably one of the biggest upsets of the day, as none of the principal pre-race favourites finished in the top-three.

Report: women's 100m hurdles final – IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Warren Weir provided the highlights of the final day of the Jamaica Athletics Administration Association (JAAA)/Supreme Ventures Senior Championships with sizzling 200m wins on Sunday (23).Fraser-Pryce, who led her rivals off the curve, pulled away in the home straight to take the victory comfortable in a world-leading 22.13, just 0.04 away from her personal best set when winning the silver medal over the same distance at the London 2012 Olympic Games.Fraser-Pryce’s training partners Sherone Simpson and Anneisha McLaughlin were a distant second and third respectively in 22.55 and 22.58."I skipped the 100m to concentrate on the 200m so I can get a good time and I am happy in the end," said Fraser-Pryce who, by virtue of being the 2012 Diamond Race 100m winner, gets a wild card to run the shorter sprint in Moscow.Weir closed the four-day championships in style, the London 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist beating his chest as he crossed the line in personal best 19.79 on the famously quick National Stadium track, the joint second-fastest time in the world this year. Nickel Ashmeade, who failed to keep pace with Weir after 120 metres, was second in 20.06 while Jason Livermore finished third in a personal best 20.13."I just want Jamaica and the rest of the world to know that this (his London medal) was no fluke. This was for real,” said Weir.The men’s 400m saw the changing of the guard as 20-year-old Javere Bell produced a another personal best 45.08, having already improved to 45.26 in Saturday’s semi-final.Bell beat junior star Javon Francis, who is still only 18 but also produced a personal best of 45.24, with Akheem Gauntlett, third in 45.48.London 2012 Olympic Games finalist Novlene Williams-Mills took the women's 400m final in 50.01 which equalled the third fastest time in the world this year, coming home ahead of Stephanie McPherson, whose 50.28 for second place was just outside the 50.16 PB she set in the heats. Patricia Hall was third in 51.13.The women’s 100m Hurdles also saw some new faces emerge with 20-year-old Danielle Williams, the fastest Jamaican this season, taking victory in a big personal best of 12.69. It was the latest step forward, and fifth improvement of the summer, for Williams who stated the year with a personal best of 13.32.Andrea Bliss finished second in 12.82 and Williams’ older sister Shermaine, third in 12.93.In the field, Kimberly Williams won the women’s Triple Jump with a wind-assisted 14.40m from former World champion Trecia-Kaye Smith, who had a legal 14.18m. The best men’s field event performance came from 2011 World University Games winner Odayne Richards, who reached 20.00m in the Shot Put, with Raymond Brown second with 19.03m.Anthony Foster for the IAAF

Fraser-Pryce runs world-leading 22.13, Weir 19.79 on final day of the Jamaican Champs 