Sawt Falasteen - Tinch crowns atypical path to top with world hurdles gold

Tinch clocked 12.99sec for gold ahead of the Jamaican duo of Orlando Bennett and Tyler Mason, who each timed personal bests of 13.08sec and 13.12sec respectively.

"When I crossed the finish line I felt relieved," said 25-year-old Tinch.

"I came into this season with the goal of winning the world title. I wanted to be the best hurdler in the world."

The path to that goal was made easier earlier in the evening when Grant Holloway's bid for a fourth consecutive world title came crashing to a halt when the American could only finish sixth in his semi-final.

The Olympic champion, 27, has not been his dominant self this season, and it showed at Tokyo's National Stadium.

The American enjoyed a good start, but floundered badly in the closing 30 metres in a semi-final won by Mason.

Tinch insisted that "keeping the medal with America is fantastic".

- Atypical path to top -

Tinch has certainly not followed the usual route to becoming a top-class athlete. In 2019 he took time out from the sport to sell mobile phones and work in paper factories among other odd jobs.

He has progressed from elimination in the semi-finals of the 2023 world championships to be world leader in the event this year and joint fourth fastest of all time, having clocked 12.87sec in Shanghai.

"I stepped away from the track for a couple of years but I am not regretting it at all," he said.

"If I hadn't taken that break from the track, I wouldn't be a world champion now. Everything I learned at that time away from the sport made me the man I am and a world champion."

Tinch has credited his stepfather Tyler as the impetus that launched the sequence of events that led to him running in world championships.

He had called Tinch out when the pair were watching college track on the television, the latter rising to the bait and re-donning spikes.

"There are ups and downs, but at the end of the day you get what you're supposed to get," said Tinch, who initially went to college on a scholarship to play American football and run track.

"Being the only one to run sub-13 today makes me happy. I believed I was the best out there, so I didn't feel any pressure.

"People expected me to panic but I stayed focused. I don't think any hurdler will tell you can run hurdles perfectly, unless it's 12.79.

"I don't think it was a perfect race but it was the race I needed to get the job done."

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST