Ebony Morrison Collects Bronze from Indoor Championship in France
Flashback: Ebony Morrison at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo
US-based Liberian hurdler Ebony Morrison returned home with a bronze medal from the just-ended 20th edition of the Meeting d'Athlétisme de Mondeville indoor championship held at the indoor track in Mondeville, France.
Morrison finished 3rd in 8.11 seconds in the women’s 60m hurdles behind Evonne Britton of the US, who clocked 8.10 seconds and gold medalist Laeticia Bapte of France who finished in 8.9 seconds.
The 27-year-old booked her place in the final after finishing as runners-up (8.13 seconds) in heat 2 of the 60m hudler.
Last week’s indoor championship was her first international competition after representing Liberia in the 2020 Summer Olympic games in Tokyo where she smashed herself a personal best, a national record and a World Championship qualification time by clocking 12.74 seconds, 0.24 seconds faster than her previous time.
Morrison’s compariot, Wellington Zaza, who represented Liberia in the men’s 60m hurdles, missed out on a medal but went on to set a national record.
Zaza, 27, finished 4th in the men's 60m hurdles after clocking 7.61, beating his personal best (7.69) to set a new national record that had been held by Sultan Tucker since 2001.
According to records, Zaza has now moved up to 2nd in the African all-time rankings, behind Shaun Bownes of South Africa, the African record holder since 2001 with a time of 7.52.
Both Zaza and Morrison along with sprinter Emmanuel Matadi, will also represent Liberia in the 2022 World Indoor Championships slated for March 18-20 in Belgrade, Serbia.
The trio qualified for the world championship after achieving the qualifying standards from their respective indoor events late January.
The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a bi-annual indoor track and field competition that serve as the global championship for that version of the sport.
Matadi will represent Liberia in the men’s 60m. He booked his place when he lowered his 60m national record from 6.58 to 6.55 in the G5 & Super 22 Invitational Indoor Championships in Houston, Texas. Matadi, who will turn 31 on February 11, has held the 60m national record since 2016 when he clocked 6.58 in the Minnesota State Open indoor championships.
Zaza on the other hand booked his place in the 2022 Indoor Championships after clocking 7.69 in the men's 60m hurdles, tying the national record held by Sultan Tucker since 2001.
Ebony Morrison, the lone female representative, clocked 8.13 in the women's 60m hurdles at the South Carolina Invitational Indoor Championships, just 0.1 short of Kia Davis’ 8.12 national record from 2008.