National Football League

Eagles' Devon Allen runs a 13.04 110m hurdle, fourth-fastest time of the year

Published Jun. 26, 2023 8:29 p.m. ET

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Many NFL stars have found success in track and field over the years. Devon Allen is just the latest to balance a career in both sports.

The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver ran the 110-meter hurdles in 13.04 seconds at the 2023 USATF NYC Grand Prix over the weekend. It's the fourth-fastest time in the event around the world this year. 

Allen finished second behind Daniel Roberts, who completed the race in 13.01 seconds.

The 28-year-old Allen has spent most of his professional sports career in track and field. After playing football and running track and field at Oregon from 2013-17, Allen began competing in the U.S. Nationals and international events. 

Allen is a three-time U.S. national champion (2014, 2016 and 2018) and a two-time Olympian, reaching the finals in both the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in the 110-meter hurdles.

Allen finished first in the 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic trials before finishing fifth in the event at the 2016 Summer Games. He came in second in the U.S. Olympic trials ahead of the 2020 Summer Games, where he finished fourth.

Months after Allen ran in his second Olympics, he opted to go back to football. He participated at Oregon's Pro Day in 2022, running a 4.35 40-yard dash. He earned a visit with the Eagles as a result and signed with the team a day later.

Allen spent the entire 2022-23 season on the Eagles' practice squad, but he's still been running the 110-meter hurdles, taking part in the race at five different events this offseason. He also ran the 110-meter hurdles during the 2022 offseason, running a 12.84 to win the race at the USAF NYC Grand Prix last year.

That marked the third-fastest time ever recorded in the 110-meter hurdles. 

"It's going well," Allen told NBC Sports when asked how he's juggling both careers. "You know, balancing both is difficult, but I'm having a lot of fun. As long as I can stay healthy, it's good to compete against these guys in high-quality competition. You know, 13.01 and 13.04 is nothing to scoff at, so we're ready to go."

Allen will take part in the USATF Outdoor Championships in early July. If he runs the 110-meter hurdles well enough there, he could qualify to run in the world championships. That would present him with a bit of a problem as the world championships are set to take place in mid-to-late August, when the Eagles and the rest of the NFL are in training camp, a pivotal time for players like Allen who are trying to make the 53-man roster. 

"I still don't have a plan of what I'm going to do with worlds being, you know, during training camp," Allen told KPIC-TV in Oregon earlier in June. "Obviously, it'd be nice to compete at worlds, and also it would be nice to be at training camp, so I can make the 53-man roster. Obviously it's going to be a little bit of a decision, but I'm not going to worry about that."

There are many NFL players who have competed in professional track and field events over the years. In March, Tyreek Hill ran in the 60-meter dash at the USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Championships, winning the 25-to-29 age bracket with a 6.70-second dash. Seahawks star DK Metcalf participated in the 100-meter dash at the USATF Golden Games in 2021, running the race in a respectable 10.37 seconds. 

There have also been a handful of NFL players to run in the Olympics. Eleven former NFL players have medaled in a track event at the Olympics. The two most recent players to accomplish that are James Jett and Michael Bates, with the former winning gold as part of the 4x100 relay team and the latter winning bronze in the 200-meter dash at the 1992 Summer Games. 

With the 2024 Summer Olympics around the corner, Allen could potentially break the 30-plus-year drought of NFL players failing to win a medal at the Olympics.

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