NFL hopeful Devon Allen posted the third-fastest men’s 110-meter hurdles time ever on Sunday, winning in 12.84 seconds at the USATF NYC Grand Prix in New York.
Allen, who recently signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, easily defeated Olympic silver medalist Grant Holloway, who finished in 13.06 seconds.
Allen, 27, missed the world record by 0.04 seconds. The mark of 12.80 was set by American Aries Merritt in 2012, while Holloway narrowly missed matching it when he ran 12.81 on June 26, 2021.
Allen, a two-time Olympian, was gunning for the mark from the outset.
“I thought I could break the record today,” Allen said, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Clean up a few things, and four hundredths of a second is four thousandths of a second per hurdle, which is so small. Going to have to wait for another race.”
Allen plans to compete in track through July before turning his attention to football. The Eagles signed him after he turned in an unofficial 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash at Oregon’s pro day earlier this year.
Allen played for the Ducks from 2014-16. He showed promise in 2014 when he caught 41 passes for 684 yards and seven touchdowns.
“When I’m doing so much — like football and track, trying to balance them both — I need to be really conscious of my recovery, my sleep, my diet, everything like that,” Allen told reporters.
“So it had me locked in a little bit more, and obviously it’s working out.”
Allen placed fifth in the 2016 Rio Olympics in 13.31 seconds and fourth last summer in Tokyo with a time of 13.14.
–Field Level Media