David Payne

Payne won his first career USA Outdoor 110m hurdles title at the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships with his time of 13.12 seconds, and later that summer traveled to Berlin, Germany where he won the bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships for the second time in his career. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Payne got out well in the final and remained in second place throughout the race, earning the silver medal with his seasonal best time of 13.17 seconds. Payne finished fourth in the men's 110m hurdles at the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships, just one position shy of earning a spot on the Team USA roster for the World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan. He received a phone call on Monday morning, August 27 at 5:30 a.m., telling him that American record holder Dominique Arnold had dropped off the team due to injury, and would he be willing to get on a plane to Japan the next day to compete. Payne arrived in Osaka on that Tuesday evening and competed in the first round the very next day. He made it through the opening round and the semifinals before finishing third for the bronze medal in the final in a personal-best time of 13.02 seconds. It was a breakthrough performance for Payne, who is apparently immune to the affects of jet lag. Payne also won the silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games and ended the 2007 season ranked #5 in the world by Track & Field News...