“I was expecting the race to come down to me and Allison Beckford,” Taylor said. “She’s a lot like me. She starts slower, then really turns it on.”

When Taylor reached the backstretch and Beckford was still behind her, victory was in sight.

“When I got to my last hurdle, I was confident I had the momentum,” Taylor said. “When it was only Angel Patterson in front of me, I knew I was going to win.”

Taylor passed Patterson on the final hurdle, and accelerated down the backstretch. Beckford also passed Patterson in the final meters, but she could not catch up with Taylor. Beckford-who on Saturday became the NCAA’s 400-meet dash champion-placed second with a personal-best time of 56.22 seconds.

Taylor’s finish of 55.88 seconds was the best time run by an American this year and the sixth-best in the world. The strength of her Friday performance gives Taylor confidence going into the U.S. Track and Field Championships at the end of June.

“It’s going to be a new experience for me there, being a 55-second hurdler,” Taylor said. “That’s a barrier I’ve been trying to cross for a long time.”

Taylor will use her performance at the USATF Championships to gauge whether she can be competitive for a berth in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

“If I am successful [at nationals] it will determine what I do for the next four years,” Taylor said.