Jamaican Omar McLeod decisively routed the field in the 110m hurdles final, running 13.05 ahead of Orlando Ortega's 13.17. Americans Devon Allen and Ronnie Ash were fifth and eighth.



The only other Olympic 110m hurdles final in which zero American medals was 1980, when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics. Ash looked to be in position to possibly medal heading into the last hurdle, but hit it and stumbled into last place.

There was never any doubt about who would win this race, though. McLeod combined his unprecedented speed--he's the only man ever under 13.00 in the hurdles and 10.00 in the 100m--with clean hurdling and led from nearly start to finish. The 22-year-old turned pro after winning the 2015 NCAA title for Arkansas, and won by just under a meter tonight. 

Orlando Ortega of Spain was second. For most of 2016, Ortega was not cleared to compete at the Olympics after transferring his citizenship from Cuba to Spain. He defected from Cuba after the 2013 world championships--after getting suspended by the Cuban federation for not doing a meet they wanted--and initially declared his intention to move to Florida. And the IOC cleared him to compete for Spain on his 25th birthday in late July. 

Dimitri Bascou of France won bronze after also taking third at world indoors. McLeod won the 60m at world indoors, and was undefeated in the hurdles through the Jamaican Trials. But he ran 16.82 for dead last in Monaco--and was DQ'd in Hungary three days later. Those were his last two races before the Olympics. And they were clearly flukes.