Seventeen-year-old Wayne Davis Jr. of the US broke the world junior record for the 110m hurdles last Friday, July 31, with a speedy 13.08 secs. (2.0w) flight over the 39-inch-high barriers at the Pan-American Junior Championships in Trinidad.
So, who is Wayne Davis and what does he have to do with Caribbean track & field? Well, the parents of this Raleigh, North Carolina resident are from Trinidad & Tobago. Both his dad, Wayne Davis Sr., and mom are professionals and dad was once a member of that country's under-19 national soccer team. He earned his doctorate in civil engineering and guest lectures at the college level.
Walking in the sports shoes of his father, the junior Wayne, chose track. His desire to be a hurdler goes back to when he was five-years-old and watched the American hurdler Allen Johnson win the event at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He was later inspired by China's Liu Xiang, the former high hurdles world record hurdler. That early childhood desire later became a teenage reality.
Built more like a distance runner, the young Davis hurdled his way into the national and international spotlight in 2007 when he was 15. He completed the 110-meter hurdles race in a nation-leading 13.65 at the North Carolina state meet and then won the event at the IAAF Youth Championships that same year with a scorching 13.18.
His time last week has bettered the Pan-Am Junior meet record of 13.46 set over 39 inch hurdles by Johnny Dutch in 2007.
Dayron Robles of Cuba, the 2008 Olympic champion and current world record holder, set a Pan-Am Junior meet record of 13.46 over 42-inch hurdles for his victory in 2005.
Davis, who graduated high school this spring and is headed to Texas A&M University, also has broken the US national high school record of 13.30 set by Chris Nelloms in 1990 as well as the 12.9 hand-time set by Renaldo Nehemiah over yards back in 1977, which converts to 13.14 secs.