SHANGHAI: American hurdler Cordell Tinch continued his breakthrough season with a stunning win at the Shanghai-Keqiao Diamond League, clocking a final time of 12.87 seconds in the 110-m hurdles.
The 24-year-old’s time not only secured him back-to-back Diamond League victories in consecutive weeks, but he also tied as the fourth-fastest man in history, alongside 2008 Olympic champion Dayron Robles.
Tinch, although having an unconventional path to the elite level, says he’s staying focused on his improvement as he aims to make the US team for this year’s world championships.
The athlete said: “I’m just happy to come out compete again and honestly, just build off of last week, so as we continue to go through this season, I just want to get better each week… Technically, last year was my first full season as a pro. They say, your first full year as a pro, it’s a learning process. You got to learn things, so there’s a lot of things that I had to learn.”
In a social media post made by Athletics Weekly, it stated: “What a start to the season for Cordell Tinch 🔥 Off the back of times of 12.97 (3.4) and 13.06 (0.3) in the last couple of weeks, he clocks an incredible 12.87 (0.6) to win over 110m hurdles at the Shanghai Diamond League 🇨🇳 It puts Tinch joint-fourth on the 110m hurdles all-time list ⚡️”
A netizen commented on the post and said: “Such a strong start to the season! I truly believe you are a shoo-in @cordizzle.pinch to make the US Team! I truly believe you have a great shot to win gold!! Your technique and ability to maintain top speed is what separates you from the other 110mh!”
Tinch’s sporting background
Just two years ago, Tinch was selling cellphones in Green Bay, having stepped away from a football scholarship and a potential Division I track career at the University of Minnesota.
He then returned to athletics through a Division II programme at Pittsburg State (Pitt State), where he quickly made headlines with standout performances in the high jump, long jump, and especially the 110-m hurdles.
Tinch went on to become a professional in 2024 as he made a strong start. However, a mid-season surgery set him back. He narrowly missed a spot on the US Olympic team after finishing fourth at the trials in 13.03 seconds.
Recently, he beat world record holder Grant Holloway at the Diamond League opener in Xiamen last week with a time of 13.06 seconds. He followed this win with his remarkable 12.87-second performance at the China Textile City Sports Centre in Shanghai.
Moreover, Tinch’s recent 12.87-second run in Shanghai now puts him among the sport’s top contenders, and his eyes are set firmly on making the world championship team later this year.
“I’ll be honest, I kind of felt like I was going to run something fast… I’d been getting out very well all week, but it’s a matter of trying to finish those races when I get out well, because I’ll get out well and I’ll get a little relaxed towards the end,” he added.
He further stated: “I don’t want to miss any more USA teams, so regardless of what I got to do, I thought (13.03) last year was fast enough, but it’s not, so sometimes you got to go run 12.8 and figure it out from there.”