Ryan Wilson
Breakthrough of the Year - Best of 2013


From no sponsor to a silver medal, Ryan Wilson had a wild year

There was plenty of healthy debate this winter about our “Breakthrough of the Year” award. Contrary to what you’re thinking, it wasn’t about the nominees. This 110-meter hurdler had it in the bag for a while.

The arguments were about whether or not we should change this year’s award from the traditional “Breakthrough” to the “Roger Murtaugh Award.” If Roger Murtaugh doesn’t ring a bell, then do yourself a post-Boxing Day favor and watch Lethal Weapon 1 and 2 (but nothing past that).

In the end, we decided against the Danny Glover homage. Why? Because unlike Murtaugh, Ryan Wilson is not too old for this **** (warning: language).

“Even though I'm 32 and it's my first [World] team... it's not like I've been chopped liver for 10 years,” Wilson said in a press conference before the Lausanne Diamond League Meeting. “I'm consistently ranked top 10 in the world. I've been third in the world, I've been fifth in the world...”

Let’s get one thing straight: Wilson is not old. There are plenty of people doing big things at the ripe old age of 32! Beyonce is running the world. That song by Pitbull is everywhere. Justin Timberlake just released his third album and he’s pretty much won over everyone in the world since stuff like this and that.

This year also had a “third” for Wilson. If you don't want to watch the full press conference video from Lausanne, we have this excerpt for you (below):

 

"This is not a surprise for me. This isn't some extra special year for me… If we had teams to make every year, I would have made two teams already. I've been third at USAs in 2006 and second at USAs in 2010. It just so happened there was no team to make those years.

"This would be my third team and 32 isn't old, either. Obviously it's special for me to make the team… but to me it means nothing more than an opportunity to go compete on the biggest stage. It hasn't changed my life, yet I'm hoping that I win Worlds and that changes my life."

Wilson is the kind of athlete who’s always been in the conversation. The kind of guy who - when he gets in the blocks - makes us wonder if he’ll pull off the win.

But unlike the last 13 years of his hurdling career, this was the year when we he wasn’t just “in” the conversation, but was the main topic.

From no sponsor, to the U.S. 110mH champion, to his first World Championship team, to his first World final, and finally to a World silver medal... you can say it’s been a breakout year.

Before we continue, we just want you to look in awe at Wilson’s longevity in the 110mH. Here are his seasonal bests from when he came onto the scene back when he couldn’t legally buy a beer:

 

Wilson’s career reads like a classic story arc. He rose to prominence around the middle (in 2007 when he ran his personal best of 13.02), sort of fell off the radar (comparatively), and then stormed back onto the scene this season in dramatic fashion.

Might we add that he ran 27 races this year, which includes four 60mH indoors.

How did it all start? We first really saw glimpses of his breakthrough at Mt. SAC, where he took the win over some strong competition in 13.23 (note the sweet jersey).

The highlights between Mt. SAC and the U.S. Championships include a second place at the Shanghai Diamond League Meeting (13.25) and fourth place at the Prefontaine Classic (13.18).

But the race that really started his breakthrough season was the U.S. Championship final, where Wilson took down the #1 (Aries Merritt - 12.80), #2 (David Oliver - 12.89), and #9 (Jason Richardson - 12.98) all-time 110mH Americans to win the national title.

Though it wasn’t a surprise for Wilson, it was still a big deal. Why? Because the U.S. is absolutely stacked in the men’s hurdles and to beat out some of the all-time greats (who are also much younger than him) and the world record holder is quite the accomplishment.

What could make this even better? Did we mention he was unsponsored at the time?

Here's a little backstory. Wilson was sponsored by Saucony in 2012, but was dropped in 2013. He ran unattached for the majority of the season, as he did in 2010 when Ryan Fenton interviewed “the fastest unsponsored athlete in the world” after the Monaco Diamond League Meeting. We don't mean to jump to the conclusion, but spoiler alert - he's now sporting a Mizuno kit. Back to his 2013 season.

Riding high from USAs, Wilson had big aspirations for his first World Championships final. Although he took some knocks in Lausanne (he placed third), Paris (sixth), and London (fourth), everything was building towards another big championship performance. After a strong semifinal in Moscow, Wilson made it clear - the goal for the year had been a world title.

Once again stepping into the blocks with those three Americans and plus five other world-class hurdlers, Wilson came up big when it counted most. Out from the far reaches of lane nine (LANE NINE?!), Wilson swopped in to take the silver medal.

Again: from lane nine?! Show some respect to your elders.

Though it’s a bit long, Wilson’s post-race interview from Moscow is worth a watch.

He won’t admit it, but 2013 was a dream season for Wilson. He'd reemerged not just as someone on the world rankings, but as someone who was clutch on the biggest stage. Age and form from past seasons aside, Wilson showed the world that he never left. He just needed to put all the pieces together in a World Championship year.

And we'll reiterate that to even be a member of Team USA in the men's 110mH, where there was almost a sweep at the World Championships for goodness sake, is pretty hard. Wilson's silver medal was well-earned not just through one strong race or even one successful season, but was earned from a decade's worth of preparation.

He had been close to the top in past seasons, but this was the big one - this was Ryan Wilson's breakthrough.

 

Editor’s Note: When we started our research, we found out that it was Wilson’s 33rd birthday just a little over a week ago. Happy belated!