From Leaving the Sport to 4th Fastest Ever: Cordell Tinch Breaks Down His Comeback and World Championship Win
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Dominic Schlueter
4.9 • 822 Ratings
🗓️ 29 September 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Cordell Tinch just struck gold in Tokyo, and he’s back on the show to tell us how it happened.
This isn’t just about a gold medal. Cordell’s career is about resilience, reinvention, and the razor-thin line between heartbreak and glory. Just a year ago, he missed making the U.S. Olympic team by one place after undergoing mid-season surgery.
Fast forward to 2025, and he’s running 12.99 to capture the World Championship title in Tokyo, only weeks after becoming Diamond League champion with a blazing 12.92, equaling the meet record in Zurich. Earlier this season, Cordell clocked 12.87 in Keqiao, a performance that made him the fourth-fastest 110m hurdler in history.
His journey has been anything but linear. From winning the Big 12 title as a Kansas freshman in 2019, to leaving the sport for nearly three years, to storming back at Pittsburg State with a world-leading 12.96 in 2023, Cordell’s arc is one of resilience and belief.
Now, after sharpening his rhythm and composure to consistently break the 13-second barrier, he’s here to unpack the mindset shift that turned him from nearly quitting the sport into a global champion.
Because of that, this isn’t another victory lap. It’s a raw and dynamic inside look at how belief, resilience, and technical mastery can transform an athlete’s career and inspire a generation.
Tap into the Cordell Tinch Special.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When I first went pro, they asked like what my goals were. |
| 0:03.6 | And I was like, well, of course, you know, the on-the-track goals are I want to win, you know, medals. |
| 0:08.4 | That's what the sport comes down, but you want to win medals. |
| 0:11.5 | But I also want to, you know, inspire and reach as many people as I can to be better people. |
| 0:19.3 | Like, that's really all I want to do is have people be better people. |
| 0:23.7 | And it's working. |
| 0:30.0 | Ladies and gentlemen, that was the world champion himself. |
| 0:33.3 | Cordell Tinched back on the Running Effect podcast. |
| 0:35.6 | It was a privilege to welcome Cordell back onto the show after he won the 110 meter world championships in Tokyo. |
| 0:43.7 | And he destroyed that race. He ran 1299 to win his first world championship. I've had Cordell on the podcast a few times where he's told his remarkable story from phone salesman, thinking he would never participate in the sport |
| 0:55.8 | of track and field again to getting back into it, winning multiple NCAA titles, becoming |
| 1:01.6 | a professional with Nike, and now becoming the world champion. This is just the star for Cordell, |
| 1:06.5 | and I really appreciated him giving me the time literally a week after the race, maybe not even that much. And so this conversation is a documentation of the thoughts and reflections of a world champion. I hope you guys enjoy it. If you do, hit the follow button so you don't miss more conversations like this in the future. Give us a five-star review. It takes three to five seconds to do so and make sure you share this podcast with a friend |
| 1:27.9 | because the easiest way in which we can go is you sharing this with your community. |
| 1:31.3 | With all those notes aside, enjoy my conversation with the one and only. |
| 1:35.3 | Mr. World Champion, Cordell Tinch. |
| 1:41.9 | Ladies and gentlemen, he called his shot. |
| 1:43.9 | He came through. He's back. Mr. World Champion, champion of the world, no longer a phone salesman. That I know of, although I'm sure you could sell me a phone. Mr. Cordell Tinch, welcome back to the Running Effect podcast. Congrats, man. Thank you for having me back. Thank you again. How you feel, man? How's the crowd feel? |
| 2:02.3 | It's finally setting in because I just made it back to Wisconsin. |
| 2:07.4 | And being around the family and friends, |
| 2:10.9 | it's finally settling in of like me accomplishing this. |
| 2:15.1 | It took a while. |
... |
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