Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles

This was the completion of the fabled story. Harrison Dillard failed to qualify in this event at the US Olympic Trials four years earlier, but succeeded in qualifying in a secondary event, the 100 meters, which he then won at the 1948 Olympics. After the long wait, this was his second chance to run the hurdles. American World Record holder Dick Attlesey had suffered career ending injuries earlier in the season and was not here. Dillard equalled the Olympic record of 13.9 in the first heat.

In the final, Jack Davis popped out of his blocks early in the first attempt to get the race started. In this era, a first false start only merited a warning, not disqualification. On the second start, fearing disqualification, Davis was pinned in his blocks. Dillard was out fast in the center of the track, gaining a full metre lead on Davis and Arthur Barnard by the second barrier. From there, Davis separated from Barnard and was slowly chipping away at Dillard's lead with each flight of hurdles. Barnard was also separating from the rest of the contenders. Davis was not able to catch Dillard, but did make it close, both men getting the same hand time 13.7, both getting credit for a new Olympic record. But new experimental fully automatic timing showed Dillard with a 13.91 and Davis with a 14.00. Barnard finished 4 tenths of a second later, another 4 tenths of a second faster than the rest of the world. This was the sixth time USA has swept the 110 metres hurdles. They would do it again in the next two Olympics for a total of eight.