Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devon Allen posted the third-fastest 110m hurdles time in history on Sunday, winning in 12.84 seconds at the New York City Grand Prix.
Allen, who recently signed with the Eagles after a successful track career, easily defeated Olympic silver medalist Grant Holloway, who finished in 13.06 seconds.
The 27-year-old Allen missed the world record by 0.04 seconds. The mark of 12.80 was set by American Aries Merritt in 2012.
Allen, a two-time Olympian, said he is confident he can beat Merritt’s time.
THE THIRD FASTEST TIME EVER! @DevonAllen13 of the @Eagles wins the men's 110m hurdles! @SNFonNBC
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) June 12, 2022
📺: @nbc and @peacockTV
💻 https://t.co/DBJg3Xp3aA pic.twitter.com/2RXud8cqR2
“I thought I could break the record today,” Allen told 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. Allen played college football for Oregon from 2014 to 2016. The Eagles picked him up after he ran an unofficial 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash at a workout earlier this year. The average time for an NFL wide receiver is around 4.48 seconds.
“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.
