Tobi Amusan in the 100m hurdles heats at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (© Getty Images)
As the year draws to a close, we look back at the key moments of 2022 in each area of the sport.
The series continues with a review of the hurdles and steeplechase and will be followed over the coming days by reviews of other event groups.
Men’s 110m hurdles
Season top list
| 12.84 | Devon Allen 🇺🇸 USA | New York | 12 June |
| 12.99 | Grant Holloway 🇺🇸 USA | Monaco | 10 August |
| 12.99 | Rasheed Broadbell 🇯🇲 JAM | Lausanne | 26 August |
| 13.00 | Trey Cunningham 🇺🇸 USA | Eugene | 10 June |
| 13.00 | Freddie Crittenden 🇺🇸 USA | Freeport | 20 August |
World Athletics rankings
| 1 | Grant Holloway 🇺🇸 USA | 1483 |
| 2 | Trey Cunningham 🇺🇸 USA | 1422 |
| 3 | Asier Martinez 🇪🇸 ESP | 1398 |
| 4 | Rasheed Broadbell 🇯🇲 JAM | 1397 |
| 5 | Devon Allen 🇺🇸 USA | 1394 |
World medallists
| 🥇 | Grant Holloway 🇺🇸 USA | 13.03 |
| 🥈 | Trey Cunningham 🇺🇸 USA | 13.08 |
| 🥉 | Asier Martinez 🇪🇸 ESP | 13.17 |
| Full results | ||
Major winners
World Championships: Grant Holloway 🇺🇸 USA 13.03
World Indoor Championships: Grant Holloway 🇺🇸 USA 7.39
African Championships: Amine Bouanani 🇩🇿 ALG 13.26
European Championships: Asier Martinez 🇪🇸 ESP 13.14
NACAC Championships: Freddie Crittenden 🇺🇸 USA 13.00
Oceania Championships: Nicholas Hough 🇦🇺 AUS 13.43
Commonwealth Games: Rasheed Broadbell 🇯🇲 JAM 13.08
Wanda Diamond League: Grant Holloway 🇺🇸 USA 13.02
World U20 Championships: Antoine Andrews 🇧🇸 BAH 13.23
Season at a glance
One year on from his surprise Olympic defeat – the only race he lost in the whole of 2021 – Grant Holloway re-established himself as the world’s leading athlete in the men’s sprint hurdles.
He started his year with yet another undefeated indoor campaign, extending a winning streak in the 60m hurdles which goes back to 2014. He won the world indoor title in Belgrade, having equalled his own world record of 7.29 in the semifinals.
The multi-talented US athlete went on to win all the big races of the year outdoors, retaining his world title in 13.03, clocking a season’s best of 12.99 to win at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco, and then winning the Diamond League Final in Zurich in 13.02.
What makes his season all the more impressive is that it was a record year for depth in the 110m hurdles as 17 men ran 13.20 or faster.
Holloway’s compatriot Devon Allen held the world-leading time for 2022 with the 12.84 he ran at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in New York, elevating him to third on the world all-time list. His next-best time of the year was the 13.09 he ran to finish third at the US Championships, just a few weeks before he exited the World Championships after a false start.
It was a good year for USA’s Trey Cunningham, who dominated the US collegiate circuit and set several PBs indoors and out. He won the NCAA indoor title in 7.38, then took the outdoor NCAA crown in a PB of 13.00 before earning world silver in Oregon in 13.08.
Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell was unfortunate to miss out on the World Championships final, but just two weeks later he won Commonwealth gold and then went on to win in Szekesfehervar and Lausanne, beating Holloway on both occasions. He also set a PB of 12.99 in the latter.
Freddie Crittenden is another athlete who turned his disappointment into motivation. After missing out on making the US team for the World Championships, he won the NACAC title in a PB of 13.00.
Spain’s Asier Martinez showed a hint of what was to come with his fourth-place finish at the World Indoor Championships. His outdoor season truly got going with his marginally wind-assisted 13.15 win at the Spanish Championships. He then took world bronze in Oregon in a PB of 13.17 and improved on that to win the European title in 13.14, just a fraction ahead of Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, who was given the same time for silver.
Women’s 100m hurdles
Season top list
| 12.12 | Tobi Amusan 🇳🇬 NGR | Eugene | 24 July |
| 12.27 | Kendra Harrison 🇺🇸 USA | Eugene | 24 July |
| 12.27 | Jasmine Camacho-Quinn 🇵🇷 PUR | Brussels | 2 September |
| 12.31 | Britany Anderson 🇯🇲 JAM | Eugene | 24 July |
| 12.35 | Alaysha Johnson 🇺🇸 USA | Eugene | 25 June |
World Athletics rankings
| 1 | Tobi Amusan 🇳🇬 NGR | 1489 |
| 2 | Jasmine Camacho-Quinn 🇵🇷 PUR | 1456 |
| 3 | Britany Anderson 🇯🇲 JAM | 1423 |
| 4 | Tia Jones 🇺🇸 USA | 1378 |
| 5 | Kendra Harrison 🇺🇸 USA | 1377 |
World medallists
| 🥇 | Tobi Amusan 🇳🇬 NGR | 12.06w |
| 🥈 | Britany Anderson 🇯🇲 JAM | 12.23w |
| 🥉 | Jasmine Camacho-Quinn 🇵🇷 PUR | 12.23w |
| Full results | ||
Major winners
World Championships: Tobi Amusan 🇳🇬 NGR 12.06w
World Indoor Championships: Cyrena Samba-Mayela 🇫🇷 FRA 7.78
African Championships: Tobi Amusan 🇳🇬 NGR 12.57
European Championships: Pia Skrzyszowska 🇵🇱 POL 12.53
NACAC Championships: Alaysha Johnson 🇺🇸 USA 12.62
Oceania Championships: Celeste Mucci 🇦🇺 AUS 12.75w
Commonwealth Games: Tobi Amusan 🇳🇬 NGR 12.30
Wanda Diamond League: Tobi Amusan 🇳🇬 NGR 12.29
World U20 Championships: Kerrica Hill 🇯🇲 JAM 12.77
Season at a glance
The women’s 100m hurdles became one of the biggest talking points of the World Championships – not just because of Tobi Amusan’s world record of 12.12 in the semifinals, but because of the depth across the board.
Every athlete in the first semifinal set at least a season’s best in that race. Five of them set lifetime bests, three of which were also national records. But the fast times weren’t isolated to that one heat; there were four PBs in the next semifinal, and another cluster of season’s bests and PBs in the third semifinal. And were it not for the excessive 2.5m/s wind in the final, no doubt many of the athletes would have been rewarded with PBs.
As it was, Amusan won in 12.06 – the fastest time in history in any conditions. Britany Anderson, who had set a Jamaican record of 12.31 in the semifinal, ran 12.23 to take silver, just ahead of Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who was given the same time. USA’s 21-year-old Alia Armstrong ran a staggering 12.31 but was still 0.08 off a medal.
Most of the athletes who ran fast in Eugene were able to replicate swift times elsewhere in the season. Amusan, for example, won the Commonwealth title in a Games record of 12.30. Camacho-Quinn set meeting records at the Wanda Diamond League meetings in Brussels (12.27), Lausanne (12.34), Silesia (12.34) and Rome (12.37). There were also fast times at the US Championships and on the US collegiate circuit.
Poland’s Pia Skryzszowska also improved on the PB she set in Eugene (12.61), clocking 12.51 in Chorzow in early August before going on to win European gold in 12.53.
As you’d expect in a year of record depth – 14 women ran 12.50 or faster – the season was highly competitive. Amusan was beaten in four of her first five races. Even after winning world and Commonwealth gold, she suffered a defeat to Camacho-Quinn in Lausanne. The Nigerian still ended the year on a high, though, winning the Diamond League Final in 12.29.
Alaysha Johnson was one of the more notable breakthrough performers this year. After early season PBs of 12.50 and 12.40, she finished second at the US Championships in 12.35. She was disqualified from her heat at the World Championships but rebounded to win the NACAC title in Freeport.
Men’s 400m hurdles
Season top list
| 46.29 | Alison dos Santos 🇧🇷 BRA | Eugene | 19 July |
| 46.89 | Rai Benjamin 🇺🇸 USA | Eugene | 19 July |
| 47.12 | Karsten Warholm 🇳🇴 NOR | Munich | 19 August |
| 47.34 | Kyron McMaster 🇻🇬 IVB | Freeport | 21 August |
| 47.39 | Trevor Bassitt 🇺🇸 USA | Eugene | 19 July |
World Athletics rankings
| 1 | Alison dos Santos 🇧🇷 BRA | 1526 |
| 2 | Khallifah Rosser 🇺🇸 USA | 1429 |
| 3 | Rai Benjamin 🇺🇸 USA | 1419 |
| 4 | Wilfried Happio 🇫🇷 FRA | 1387 |
| 5 | Karsten Warholm 🇳🇴 NOR | 1376 |
World medallists
| 🥇 | Alison dos Santos 🇧🇷 BRA | 46.29 CR WL AR |
| 🥈 | Rai Benjamin 🇺🇸 USA | 46.89 SB |
| 🥉 | Trevor Bassitt 🇺🇸 USA | 47.39 PB |
| Full results | ||
Major winners
World Championships: Alison dos Santos 🇧🇷 BRA 46.29
African Championships: Sokwakhana Zazini 🇿🇦 RSA 49.42
European Championships: Karsten Warholm 🇳🇴 NOR 47.12
NACAC Championships: Kyron McMaster 🇻🇬 IVB 47.34
Oceania Championships: Conor Fry 🇦🇺 AUS 52.10
Commonwealth Games: Kyron McMaster 🇻🇬 IVB 48.93
Wanda Diamond League: Alison dos Santos 🇧🇷 BRA 46.98
World U20 Championships: Ismail Nezir 🇹🇷 TUR 48.84
Season at a glance
Just when it seemed as though Karsten Warholm had elevated the men’s 400m hurdles to a new level, a new king of the event emerged.
Alison dos Santos – whose bronze-medal-winning time of 46.72 in Tokyo was quicker than the long-standing pre-2021 world record of 46.78 – went from strength to strength in 2022 and enjoyed an undefeated season at his specialist discipline.
The Brazilian made an impression with his first Wanda Diamond League outing of the year, breaking Rai Benjamin’s meeting record to win in Doha in 47.24, beating Benjamin by a quarter of a second in the process.
Dos Santos went even quicker at the Prefontaine Classic (47.23) and maintained that level in Oslo (47.26). He then broke Warholm’s meeting record to win in Stockholm in 46.80.
Earlier that month, Warholm had lined up in Rabat after a delayed start to his season but pulled up on the first bend.
The three Olympic medallists – Warholm, Benjamin and Dos Santos – finally all met at the World Championships final, which pretty much went to the form book: Dos Santos won in a world-leading South American record of 46.29, Benjamin was a comfortable distance behind to take silver in 46.89, and an out-of-sorts Warholm trailed home in seventh place in 48.42.
USA’s Trevor Bassitt, who had taken world indoor 400m silver earlier in the year, came through to take bronze in a PB of 47.39, just 0.02 ahead of France’s Wilfried Happio.
With another month of quality training under his belt, Warholm rebounded to win the European title in a championship record of 47.12, finishing 1.44 ahead of runner-up Happio.
Kyron McMaster is another athlete who put a frustrating World Championships experience behind him. After a niggling injury forced him to withdraw from the World Championships semifinals, he won the Commonwealth title in 48.93 and then claimed NACAC gold in a season’s best and championship record of 47.34.
Khallifah Rosser enjoyed a breakthrough season. Starting the year with a PB of 48.65, he broke 48 seconds six times, placed fifth at the World Championships, took silver at the NACAC Championships in a PB of 47.59 and won the Diamond League meetings in Rabat and Lausanne.
He was one of eight athletes to break 48 seconds this year, equalling the record depth witnessed in 2021. The year, though, belonged to Dos Santos, whose career progression is already ahead of Warholm’s and Benjamin’s. The next few years should bring even more excitement for the event.
Women’s 400m hurdles
Season top list
| 50.68 | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 🇺🇸 USA | Eugene | 22 July |
| 52.27 | Femke Bol 🇳🇱 NED | Stockholm | 30 June |
| 53.08 | Britton Wilson 🇺🇸 USA | Eugene | 25 June |
| 53.13 | Dalilah Muhammad 🇺🇸 USA | Eugene | 22 July |
| 53.33 | Rushell Clayton 🇯🇲 JAM | Monaco | 10 August |
World Athletics rankings
| 1 | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 🇺🇸 USA | 1490 |
| 2 | Femke Bol 🇳🇱 NED | 1478 |
| 3 | Dalilah Muhammad 🇺🇸 USA | 1390 |
| 4 | Rushell Clayton 🇯🇲 JAM | 1383 |
| 5 | Janieve Russell 🇯🇲 JAM | 1374 |
World medallists
| 🥇 | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 🇺🇸 USA | 50.68 WR |
| 🥈 | Femke Bol 🇳🇱 NED | 52.27 |
| 🥉 | Dalilah Muhammad 🇺🇸 USA | 53.13 |
| Full results | ||
Major winners
World Championships: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 🇺🇸 USA 50.68
African Championships: Zeney van der Walt 🇿🇦 RSA 56.00
European Championships: Femke Bol 🇳🇱 NED 52.67
NACAC Championships: Shiann Salmon 🇯🇲 JAM 54.22
Oceania Championships: Sarah Carli 🇦🇺 AUS 55.98
Commonwealth Games: Janieve Russell 🇯🇲 JAM 54.14
Wanda Diamond League: Femke Bol 🇳🇱 NED 53.03
World U20 Championships: Akala Garrett 🇺🇸 USA 56.16
Season at a glance
Just when you thought the event couldn’t get any better, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone takes the 400m hurdles to a new level.
The Olympic champion raced sparingly, but made each outing count. All of her 400m hurdles finals were comfortably inside 52 seconds – a barrier that was only broken for the first time in 2021. She opened her season with 51.61, just 0.15 off her own world record from the Tokyo Olympics.
She then broke the record with her 51.41 triumph at the US Championships. But even off the back of that, few could have predicted how fast she was going to run at the World Championships.
Unlike the Olympics or the last World Championships, which were won by small margins, McLaughlin-Levrone was utterly dominant in Oregon as she smashed her own world record with 50.68 – a time that would be competitive in the 400m flat.
As a measure of McLaughlin-Levrone’s sheer dominance, Femke Bol – who won most of the year’s Diamond League races by comfortable margins – finished 1.59 seconds adrift of the US athlete to take silver. Defending champion and former world record-holder Dalilah Muhammad was further back in third place in 53.13, still a sterling achievement given her fitness struggles earlier in the year.
McLaughlin-Levrone went on to win in Szekesfehervar in 51.68, the fastest time ever recorded on European soil.
Aside from the World Championships, Bol won all of her other 400m hurdles races this year. She set a meeting record of 52.61 in Oslo and a Wanda Diamond League record of 52.27 in Stockholm. Towards the end of the season she took European gold in 52.67 and won the Diamond League Final in 53.03.
A record number of 12 women broke 54 seconds for 400m hurdles this year. Exciting new prospect Britton Wilson was one of those, doing so first on the US collegiate circuit (53.75) and then reducing her PB to 53.08 to finish second at the US Championships. She went on to finish fifth at the World Championships in what was her 44th race of the year. Her next and final race resulted in gold as she ran third leg for the victorious US 4x400m team in Oregon.
Four Jamaican women also ran faster than 54 seconds this year, including Rushell Clayton (53.33), Commonwealth champion Janieve Russell (53.52) and breakthrough performer Andrenette Knight (53.39).
Men’s 3000m steeplechase
Season top list
| 7:58.28 | Soufiane El Bakkali 🇲🇦 MAR | Rabat | 5 June |
| 7:58.68 | Lamecha Girma 🇪🇹 ETH | Ostrava | 31 May |
| 8:06.29 | Hailemariyam Amare 🇪🇹 ETH | Rabat | 5 June |
| 8:06.73 | Abraham Kibiwot 🇰🇪 KEN | Rome | 9 June |
| 8:06.74 | Getnet Wale 🇪🇹 ETH | Rome | 9 June |
World Athletics rankings
| 1 | Soufiane El Bakkali 🇲🇦 MAR | 1437 |
| 2 | Lamecha Girma 🇪🇹 ETH | 1421 |
| 3 | Getnet Wale 🇪🇹 ETH | 1369 |
| 4 | Abraham Kibiwot 🇰🇪 KEN | 1362 |
| 5 | Hailemariyam Amare 🇪🇹 ETH | 1347 |
World medallists
| 🥇 | Soufiane El Bakkali 🇲🇦 MAR | 8:25.13 |
| 🥈 | Lamecha Girma 🇪🇹 ETH | 8:26.01 |
| 🥉 | Conseslus Kipruto 🇰🇪 KEN | 8:27.92 |
| Full results | ||
Major winners
World Championships: Soufiane El Bakkali 🇲🇦 MAR 8:25.13
African Championships: Hailemariyam Amare 🇪🇹 ETH 8:27.38
European Championships: Topi Raitanen 🇫🇮 FIN 8:21.80
NACAC Championships: Evan Jager 🇺🇸 USA 8:22.55
Oceania Championships: Liam Cashin 🇦🇺 AUS 9:01.62
Commonwealth Games: Abraham Kibiwot 🇰🇪 KEN 8:11.15
Wanda Diamond League: Soufiane El Bakkali 🇲🇦 MAR 8:07.67
World U20 Championships: Samuel Duguna 🇪🇹 ETH 8:37.92
Season at a glance
Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali won another global gold in 2022, this time the world title. In fact, the Moroccan went undefeated for the entire season. But that streak was almost broken before it even started.
In an enthralling duel with world and Olympic silver medallist Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, El Bakkali won by just 0.01 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha in mid-May. It was the first – and closest – of three clashes between the pair as El Bakkali went on to win in Rabat in a world-leading 7:28.28, one second ahead of Girma, and then took the world title in Oregon in 8:25.13, Girma taking his fourth global silver medal in 8:26.01.
El Bakkali capped his season with wins in Lausanne and at the Diamond League Final, before going on to set an African 2000m steeplechase record of 5:14.06 in Zagreb.
Although Girma played second fiddle to El Bakkali throughout the year, the Ethiopian still made a piece of history. After setting a national record of 7:58.68 in Ostrava and finishing second in Rabat, he won in Rome in 7:59.23. No other steeplechaser in history has recorded three sub-eight-minute performances within such a short timeframe (nine days).
Multiple global champion Conseslus Kipruto made a good comeback to finish third at the World Championships, but it was generally a frustrating year for Kenyan athletes in an event they have dominated for decades.
Abraham Kibiwot was Kenya’s fastest steeplechaser this year, his 8:06.73 season’s best placing him fourth on the world list this year. He won just one race outside of Kenya, taking Commonwealth gold in 8:11.15, but he was pushed all the way by India’s Avinash Sable, who was rewarded with a national record of 8:11.20.
No Kenyan men won any Diamond League races in the steeplechase, and Geoffrey Kirwa was the country’s top finisher at the African Championships, placing third behind Ethiopia’s Hailemariyam Amare and Tadese Takele.
Finland’s Topi Raitanen (Europeans, 8:21.80) and USA’s returning Evan Jager (NACAC, 8:22.55) were the winners of other continental titles this year.
A total of 36 men ran faster than 8:20 this year, just one away from the record depth (37 in 2005). Among those 36 men, 15 different countries from five continental areas are represented.
Women’s 3000m steeplechase
Season top list
| 8:53.02 | Norah Jeruto 🇰🇿 KAZ | Eugene | 20 July |
| 8:54.61 | Werkuha Getachew 🇪🇹 ETH | Eugene | 20 July |
| 8:56.08 | Mekides Abebe 🇪🇹 ETH | Eugene | 20 July |
| 8:56.55 | Winfred Yavi 🇧🇠BRN | Paris | 18 June |
| 9:02.43 | Jackline Chepkoech 🇰🇪 KEN | Brussels | 2 September |
World Athletics rankings
| 1 | Werkuha Getachew 🇪🇹 ETH | 1457 |
| 2 | Norah Jeruto 🇰🇿 KAZ | 1438 |
| 3 | Winfred Yavi 🇧🇠BRN | 1434 |
| 4 | Mekides Abebe 🇪🇹 ETH | 1405 |
| 5 | Jackline Chepkoech 🇰🇪 KEN | 1364 |
World medallists
| 🥇 | Norah Jeruto 🇰🇿 KAZ | 8:53.02 |
| 🥈 | Werkuha Getachew 🇪🇹 ETH | 8:54.61 |
| 🥉 | Mekides Abebe 🇪🇹 ETH | 8:56.08 |
| Full results | ||
Major winners
World Championships: Norah Jeruto 🇰🇿 KAZ 8:53.02
African Championships: Werkuha Getachew 🇪🇹 ETH 9:36.81
European Championships: Luiza Gega 🇦🇱 ALB 9:11.31
NACAC Championships: Gabrielle Jennings 🇺🇸 USA 9:34.36
Oceania Championships: Brielle Erbacher 🇦🇺 AUS 9:57.60
Commonwealth Games: Jackline Chepkoech 🇰🇪 KEN 9:15.68
Wanda Diamond League: Werkuha Getachew 🇪🇹 ETH 9:03.57
World U20 Championships: Faith Cherotich 🇰🇪 KEN 9:16.14
Season at a glance
It was a remarkable year for the women’s 3000m steeplechase.
For the first time ever, four women bettered nine minutes this season. There was also record depth of women inside 9:10 (13), 9:20 (23) and 9:30 (40), with national records being broken for 10 different countries.
Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto was the world’s best steeplechaser, underlined by her World Championships triumph in a world-leading championship record of 8:53.02. She didn’t contest her specialist discipline after that, but earlier in the season she had won in Nairobi – running 9:04.95 at altitude – and at the Prefontaine Classic in 8:57.97.
Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi finished second to Jeruto at the Pre Classic (8:58.71) and improved to 8:56.55 in Paris one month later but finished just outside the medals at the World Championships.
Instead, Ethiopian duo Werkuha Getachew and Mekides Abebe joined Jeruto on the World Championships podium, both women breaking nine minutes. Injury prevented Abebe racing again after the World Championships, but Getachew – who had won the African title earlier in the year – went on to win the Diamond League Final.
Jackline Chepkoech, the world U20 champion last year, missed out on making the World Championships final, but the Kenyan teenager rebounded to win Commonwealth gold, then won in Brussels in a PB of 9:02.43, making her the second-fastest U20 athlete in history.
Chepkoech decided against defending her world U20 title in Cali; in her absence, compatriot Faith Cherotich struck gold in 9:16.14. The 18-year-old then set PBs of 9:09.63 in Brussels and 9:06.14 in Zurich.
Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai had a rollercoaster of a year. After clocking a season’s best of 9:05.54 at the Pre Classic, she finished 11th at the World Championships, then claimed bronze at the Commonwealth Games after hitting one of the barriers mid-race.
Prolific racer Luiza Gega of Albania won the European title in a championship record of 9:11.31, having finished fifth at the World Championships in a national record of 9:10.04.
Other steeplechasers to make a notable breakthrough this year include British record-holder Elizabeth Bird (9:07.87), NCAA champion Courtney Wayment (9:09.91) and French record-holder Alice Finot (9:14.34).
World Athletics
