What stands in the way of proving yourself to the world? For Kendra Harrison it was a life-time of preparation, some races won, some races lost, and one hundredth of a second- all to gain the 100 meter hurdle world record.

Keni Harrison breaks the world record with 12.20 at London Diamond League - Throwbackwww.youtube.com

Kendra or Keni Harrison is an American hurdler, born September 18, 1992, from Tennessee. Adopted by a large family, Harrison grew up playing soccer but then joined the track team at Clayton High School, where she started winning state championship titles. She continued her track career at Clemson University, where she excelled in the 400 meter and 100 meter hurdles; however, she failed to make the Olympic Team in the 2012 trials. After the 2013 season she transferred to the University of Kentucky, winning more conference titles, but kept falling short of winning the NCAA championship. A hamstring injury set her back, but she returned to set personal records in the indoor season and win her first NCAA indoor championship, followed by her first outdoor NCAA title in the 100 meter hurdles. She even placed second in the 400 meter hurdles, clocking the second-fastest time in the world that year.

After graduation, she focused on 100 meter hurdles, making the US team for the world championships in Beijing in 2015, but then false started at the world's race. In 2016 she came back strong, making it to the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championship with the fastest qualifying time, only to hit the first hurdle hard and place only eighth. Again, Harrison came back with a vengeance, clocking the fastest opener time recorder for a hurdler in the beginning of the 2016 outdoor season, ninth in the all-time lists. At the Prefontaine Classic she ran a perfect race, running the second fastest time in history, setting her up for the 2016 United States Olympic Trials. However, the trials did not go as planned.

Sometimes before you can win, you have to lose. Harrison had many setbacks in her hurdling career, but it never stopped her from fighting on. When you're learning a sport, a new skill, getting a job, or trying to become the best you can be, there are bound to be obstacles. After breaking the American record in May at the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, Harrison knew she was capable of making the team coming into the trials, but a competitive field and a less than best race left her determined for redemption.

“Not making the Olympic Team I was truly upset, and I wanted to come out here with a vengeance to show these girls what I have" – Keni Harrison (quote from NBC Sports)

When Keni Harrison fell short of making the Olympic team for Rio, she could have let this disappointment get in her head. Instead, she took the upset and let it fuel her to reach greater heights. Two weeks after the trials, Harrison, at 23 years old, broke the 100 meter hurdle world record at the IAAF Diamond League meet in London with a time of 12.20. Not only did she break the 28 year old record of 12.21, set by Yordanka Donkova in 1988, but she flew past the three members of the new Olympic team- Brianna Rollins, Kristi Castlin, Nia Ali- who finished second, third, and fourth in the race.

What would have happened if she didn't have that drive, that determination? Harrison broke the record by one hundredth of a second. That extra bit of speed put her name in history as a world record holder- the best of the best. She went through a lot to get to that one hundredth of a second. What's standing in your way, and how can you use it to rise up stronger than before?