Below are FloTrack's top upsets of 2019:

5. Fred Kerley over Michael Norman at USAs

Although an injury likely contributed to it, Fred Kerley’s upset of Michael Norman in the 400m U.S. final was nevertheless a stunning outcome. Norman had not lost a 400m since 2017, and his 43.45 season opener in April— sixth-fastest in history— seemingly set him on a path to inevitable gold in Doha. But Kerley’s 43.64-43.79 defeat of Norman in Des Moines interrupted those plans, and it was the first sign that the former USC star could be vulnerable in 2019.

4. Salwa Eid Naser over Shaunae Miller-Uibo in Worlds 400m

Shaunae Miller-Uibo hadn’t lost a race in over two years when Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser out-dueled her in one of the greatest 400m races in history at the 2019 World Championships. 

Naser’s time, 48.14, was the fastest in 34 years and the third-best in history. Sure, the 21-year-old won silver at the 2017 World Championships, but her performance in Doha cut nearly a second off her PB and represented a huge breakthrough. Miller-Uibo, the 2016 Olympic champ, ran a 48.37 PB that made her the sixth-fastest woman in history. But the Bahamian never seriously challenged Naser.

At the age of 21, Salwa Eid Naser becomes third fastest female 400m runner in history on her way to #WorldAthleticsChamps ? in 48.14.

?: https://t.co/QyBEEO2SS4 pic.twitter.com/0iQOp6IfOl

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) October 3, 2019

3. Nia Ali over Keni Harrison/Danielle Williams in Worlds 100mH

The battle in the women’s high hurdles throughout most of 2019 was between Jamaican Danielle Williams and world record holder Keni Harrison, as the pair had combined to win every Diamond League event but one. As such, the gold medal in Doha seemed likely to be decided from those two women. But instead it was 30-year-old Nia Ali, a mother of two who stole the show with a massive 12.34 PB as Harrison and Williams had to settle for silver and bronze, respectively. Ali set personal bests in both the semis (12.44) and the finals, saving her best for last in a season in which she won just one race prior to Worlds.

Things we love to see? THIS. @ItsPooda and @Ken_AYE_ go 1-2 in the 100m hurdles ?@usatf x #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/1k6tduIr7h

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) October 6, 2019

2. BYU over NAU at NCAA XC

Going for their fourth consecutive NCAA XC title, the No. 1 NAU men showed no signs of weakness in 2019 as they steamrolled through their fourth straight undefeated regular season. Meanwhile, BYU seemed to be in a rebuilding phase a year after graduating two cross country All-Americans and a track national champion. Head coach Ed Eyestone even said so himself. But the Cougars stunned the Lumberjacks in Terre Haute with a perfect day that happened to coincide with NAU’s first bad race in four seasons. Each of BYU’s top five recorded their best career finishes at NCAAs. 

1. Halimah Nakaayi over Raevyn Rogers/Ajee' Wilson in Worlds 800m

Ugandan Halimah Nakaayi ran in her first global championship final in 2019 and proceeded to storm past heavy favorite Ajee’ Wilson in the 800m at Doha. On paper, Nakaayi stood no chance against the American with a PR nearly three seconds slower, but a ferocious kick carried her to a 1:58.04 national record and her country’s first world title by a woman. 

Propelled by a perfectly-timed homestretch kick, Uganda's Halimah Nakaayi pulls off upset victory in the 800m.

?: https://t.co/L1e4TMlM1C pic.twitter.com/j88YuiCh8h

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) September 30, 2019