CLEMONS
Christina

• 1. Career

Christina Clemons is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 100 meters hurdles. She won the silver medal in the 60 metres hurdles at the 2018 World Indoor Championships. Her time of 7.73 in the event is tied for the fifth-fastest time in history and 0.05 seconds off the world record.

Career

Upon graduating the Ohio State University and before competing in her first season as a professional athlete, Clemons had a complete rupture of her right Achilles with no warning and no prior symptoms. Clemons was told that she would never run the same, whether that be good or bad, her body would compete completely differently than before. While many assured her this was a career-ending injury, she pushed forward to prove critics wrong. Four years later, in 2017, Clemons returned claiming victories all of the indoor season. She won the 60m hurdles at the 2017 Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix over Olympic Champion Sally Pearson.

Outdoor, Clemons claimed a top spot on the 2017 Iaaf World Championship team for the 100 meter hurdles, the most challenging team to make in the United States. At the 2017 World Championships in Athletics Clemons won her heat and her semifinal to reach the finals. In the final, she missed her first potential international medal by two one-thousandths of a second and finished one one-thousandth of a second behind world record holder Kendra Harrison. She went on to set a personal record of 12.54 in Berlin two weeks after world championships. Clemons fought her way to 4th in the world her first year back healthy.

The following year, Clemons missed making the team for the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships by 0.01 seconds behind Sharika Nelvis and world record holder Kendra Harrison. Two weeks later, Clemons went on to win the 2018 World indoor tour in Madrid in a time of 7.77, ahead of USA champion Sharika Nelvis, giving her an automatic spot on the world indoor team. On March 3, 2018, Christina Clemons won her first international medal and became the 2018 world indoor silver medalist. Outdoor of 2018 without a team to be made, she competed nationally and won silver for the 100m hurdles at USATF championships behind Harrison.

In 2019, Clemons had the best season of her career finishing top 3 in every competition and winning her first diamond league race in Oslo, Norway. At USA Championships, she won her heat and placed second in the semi-finals behind world record holder Harrison. In the final of the USA Championships, Clemons clipped hurdle 6 causing her to lose her place of 3rd, a guaranteed spot to the IAAF World Championships, falling to the end of the pack. She finished her 2019 season at 6th in the world.

She returned in 2020 winning the world indoor tour ahead of 2019 World Champion Nia Ali, giving her an automatic spot to the IAAF world indoor championships in Nanjing, China. Clemons is the only hurdler in history to win the IAAF world tour consecutively.