25-year-old took three-year break from elite sport
Beats Jamaican duo to gold on sweltering night in Tokyo
Cordell Tinch took the long road to becoming a world-class athlete but capped a superb second season as a professional by winning the 110m hurdles at the world championships on another sweltering Tokyo night on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old American was all control and pace as he blazed over the 10 hurdles and held off the fast finishers in the run-in to claim the title in 12.99 seconds. Orlando Bennett ran a personal best 13.08 to win silver, while his fellow Jamaican Tyler Mason took the bronze in 13.12, which matched his previous best time.
Tinch could not have imagined it would be him in late 2022 when he was a cellphone salesman in his home town Green Bay, having given up first a college football scholarship and then a shot at Division I athletics due to a combination of burnout and academic issues. During his three-year break from the track he also installed cable and worked in a toilet paper factory.
