It took one stumble from the favorite on the ninth hurdle to open the race up to the rest of the field.
Dawn Harper capitalized and sprinted her way to a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The 2006 UCLA alumna won the 100-meter hurdles in dramatic fashion with a lifetime best of 12.54 seconds. Gold medal favorite Lolo Jones was leading the race until she hit the hurdle and dropped to a seventh place finish.
Harper had a good week in Beijing and ran well leading up to the final. She finished second in her heat last Sunday and then second again in the semifinal the next day.
“In the beginning, I did feel a little more jitters than I did in the first round,” Harper said. “I had to kind of shake them off. I knew I needed to react to the gun, just focus on me and be quick and attack each hurdle.”
With a big smile on her face, Harper accepted her gold medal and became the second former Bruin to win Olympic gold in the 100m hurdles. Joanna Hayes (Athens 2004) also finished on top of the podium.
For Harper, winning was not as big of a surprise as it was to outsiders who did not expect her to cross the finish line first.
“I felt like I was always capable (of winning),” Harper said.
Harper is coached by UCLA volunteer coach Bob Kersee, husband of former Bruin great Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
In the 4x400m relay, Monique Henderson, class of 2005, helped the Americans take home the gold.
Henderson ran the third leg in a split of 50.06 and the team finished with a time of 3:18.54, the fastest time in the world since 1993.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win a gold medal,” Henderson said. “It was really touch-and-go there for a while. Thankfully, Sanya (Richards) ran a great anchor leg and brought us back to win the gold.”
Mary Wineberg started off for the team, passing the baton to Allyson Felix who took the team from second to first. Henderson was passed in the last 20 meters but anchor Sanya Richards waited and made the move in the final straightaway. The U.S. edged out Russia with Jamaica placing third.
Coach Jeanette Bolden, current UCLA women’s coach, was pleased with the way the team performed.
“It was an incredible race,” Bolden said. “All our young ladies did an excellent job. It just shows the heart and soul they have. I was proud of them. They ran with so much heart. They wanted to show American we’re doing fine, and we have more medals than we have had in a while.”
For Henderson, this is her second Olympic gold medal. She was also on the winning relay team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Sheena (Johnson) Tosta, class of 2005, avenged her fourth place finish from 2004 and made it to the medal stand this year. Tosta earned a silver medal in the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.70.
Tosta finished fifth in her heat, earning a qualifying mark based on time. In the semifinals she placed first in her flight. In the finals, Melanie Walker from Jamaica won the gold in front of Tosta who won her first Olympic medal.
Other former Bruin athletes also competed in Beijing but did not fare as well as the three medal winners.
Jessica Cosby, newly appointed women’s throws coach, fouled out in the hammer in her first Olympic competition.
Yoo Kim, competing for Korea, no-heighted in the men’s pole vault.
In the high jump, Amy Acuff cleared 6 feet, 2.25 inches but was not able to advance to the finals.
Senior-to-be Rhonda Watkins placed 37th in the long jump at 19-3.50 for Trinidad and Tobago.