Oliver Leads 1-2 for U.S. in Men's 110 Hurdles

Over 10 hurdles, David Oliver had no trouble.

Stepping past a tiny steel beam jutting out of the floor inside Luzhniki Stadium soon after winning a gold medal? Now that proved more difficult.

Soon after his near-flawless performance in the 110-meter hurdles on Monday at the world championships, Oliver tripped and tumbled to the ground.

He quickly picked himself up, rubbed his stinging knee and joked that at least it happened after the race. That was his only misstep.

For years, injuries have halted Oliver in the hurdles. For years, he's struggled to find his rhythm. It all came together as he finished just ahead of teammate Ryan Wilson. Had it not been for a trip over the final hurdle, defending champion Jason Richardson could've grabbed the last spot on the podium. But his stumble opened up the door for Sergey Shubenkov of Russia to slip into the third spot — much to the delight of the Moscow crowd.

"This feels great, man, coming out here and finally performing well again," said Oliver, a former football player at Howard University. "I was tired of being injured. I was tired of failing. I was tired of running like a donkey. It's just not good when you're not winning."

Battling injuries over his career, including one to his calf that hampered him at Olympic trials last season and prevented him from making the London squad, Oliver made changes.

No more weightlifting for the big and strong hurdler. No practicing on Wednesday, either. And, above all else, no more than four or five reps at anything he does on the track.

"I hit the reset button," Oliver explained. "With all those injuries, a lot of changes had to be made. Now, I can sit back and celebrate being a world champion."

Oliver's already off to a solid start in that department. He celebrated near the track with his mom, a former 400 hurdler who was an aspiring member of the U.S. track team in 1980 when the Americans boycotted the Moscow Olympics.

That made the moment — and being in this stadium, all the more meaningful for Oliver.

"Every race is always dedicated to my mom," said Oliver, who won Olympic bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. "She taught me everything I know. For them not to compete in the '80 Games and she's here in the stadium? Nothing better. Love sharing those moments with her."

After lunging across the finish line, Oliver let out a loud scream. All those injuries and all those setbacks seem to melt away in that moment. Wilson sauntered up to congratulate his teammate when Oliver suddenly noticed on the scoreboard that Wilson, not Richardson or Olympic gold medalist Aries Merritt, was on the podium with him.

"He goes, 'Oh, I didn't know it was you.' He was so excited," Wilson recounted. "I couldn't have lost to a better competitor."

Oliver's technique is like this: He attacks hurdles like a football player would, trying to clear them and punish them at the same time. It works, the hurdles almost bow in fear when he comes barreling by.

Steel beams? Not so much. Oliver was trying to avoid the foot of a fellow athlete when the beam tripped him up. He was up a moment later and joking around as usual.