UKTF Alum Kendra Harrison Betters World-Lead in Germany

KARLSRUHE, Germany – Kentucky track and field alumnus Kendra Harrison became the seventh fastest American indoor hurdler ever en route to winning one of the top indoor track and field meets in the world on Saturday.In her second indoor meet as a professional, Harrison bettered her world-leading personal best in the heats of the 60-meter hurdles at the IAAF World Indoor Tour Meeting in Karlsruhe.Her time of 7.82 was .01 seconds better than her season-opener at the McCravy  Memorial, in Lexington, two weeks ago.It equaled her with Janay DeLoach for seventh place on the U.S. all-time performers’ list.In the final Harrison ran 7.86 to defeat European 100m hurdles Champion Tiffany Porter (Great Britain) and World Indoor Champion Nia Ali (USA) as both ran 7.86 with the American taking second in a photo finish. Harrison earned the first available 10 points and the early lead in this season’s inaugural IAAF World Indoor League. The IAAF World Indoor League features four meetings, the first of which was Saturday in Karlsruhe and the next is Valentine’s Day in Boston.

The individual overall winner of each event will receive US $20,000 in prize money and, beginning with the 2016 edition in Portland, will automatically qualify for the next edition of the IAAF World Indoor Championships as a ‘wild card’ entry. Harrison still lives in Lexington. She serves as a volunteer assistant coach on the UK staff while she continues her professional career. UK track and field head coach Edrick Floréal remains her coach--The most up-to-date coverage of the UK track and field program is available via @KentuckyTrack handles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.