Grant Holloway came back as the returning champion. And the champion before that. And the champion before that. He had his three and was going for four. He also had the Olympic title, the second fastest time in history and the indoor world record. The world leader was Olympic bronze medalist
Rasheed Broadbell, but he cut himself on a hurdle practicing at the highly competitive Jamaican trials. He appealed for a medical exemption asked to displace
Tyler Mason who had already made the qualifying standard, and it was ultimately denied. The Olympic silver medalist
Daniel Roberts also did not get through the American trials. Japan had high hopes because
Rachid Muratake was ranked #3 in the world. Holloway did not come into the Championships with his usual string of victories. He was only ranked #13 in the world. When he finished a non-qualifying sixth in his semi-final, a new champion was going to be crowned. In the final, nobody got an edge out of the blocks. Over the second hurdle, 6 men were within inches of each other. It wasn't until the fifth hurdle that it was clear
Cordell Tinch was getting his foot down slightly faster than
Orlando Bennett and Mason.
Enrique Llopis lost a little ground in the middle of the race, rallied over the last three hurdles trying to catch Mason in the lane next to him. The order stayed true across the finish line; Tinch almost a metre up on Bennett and less than half a metre back Mason holding off Llopis and Muratake. == Records ==