Philly's Nia Ali cruises into hurdles semifinals in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO - The world record-holder in the women's 100-meter hurdles, Kendra Harrison, couldn't even make the U.S. Olympic team.

That tells you a lot about the strength of the American trio in the sprint hurdles event at Estadio Olimpico.

"We definitely have a lot of talent," said Philadelphian Nia Ali after the first round of the event Tuesday morning.

"We certainly have the potential to go 1-2-3," said teammate Kristi Castlin.

"I'm excited, I think we're all capable of [a sweep]," said teammate Brianna Rollins.

All three breezed through the first round with victories in their sections. Rollins was the fastest of all 48 who ran the event, clocking in at 12.54 seconds. Castlin ran 12.68 and Ali 12.76.

Twenty-four runners advanced to the semifinals Wednesday night. Eight will move into the final later that evening.

"I was very anxious in the [starting] blocks, actually," admitted Ali, 27, the former West Catholic and Pleasantville High athlete who went on to win an NCAA championship for Southern California. "Being on the line for your first Olympics, you really want to get the ball rolling.

"I do know I'm more fit than I've ever been. I just wanted to get out there, establish a nice rhythm, and get some dominance over the field.

"My first hurdle [clearance], was a bit high and kind of sloppy. So I had to put it together going into [hurdle] two. I was definitely in a good rhythm by three, and then finished it off well."

Back to the vision of a sweep:

"We don't want to get too confident, either," said Ali, who grew up in Germantown. "That would be a bad mistake. You can't discount anybody, from any country, when you're running at this level. Everybody here is going for the same medals you are."

History is definitely against a sprint hurdles sweep. No nation has ever done it at the 100-meter distance.

After a subpar race at the U.S. trials, Harrison went on lower the world record to 12.20 in a London meet July 22.

Interestingly, three other top hurdles candidates are U.S. citizens.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, running for Puerto Rico, ranked third after the prelims at 12.70, while sisters Cindy Ofili (12.75) and Tiffany Ofili Porter (12.87), both running for Great Britain, were fifth and 14th, respectively.