It’s safe to say every Olympic athlete will probably describe their own event as the ‘best’ the Olympics has to offer. Add 110 meter hurdler Jason Richardson to that list of unapologetic ambassadors of their sport.

“I kind of feel like hurdling is the best of track and field because it’s a mixture,” Richardson said. “You have the jumping of the field and the speed of the track.”

London will be Richardson’s first Olympic Games. He won the 110 meter hurdles at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. He initially earned a silver, but the winner Dayron Robles was disqualified for impeding a fellow hurdler.

Richardson, 26, said he didn’t receive any formal coaching when he first started hurdling. All he needed was Allen Johnson’s 1996 Gold-medal winning performance at the Atlanta Games as inspiration. Richardson called Johnson’s win as a ‘framework’ for his future track career.

“[The Olympics] means the highest honor in our sport,” Richardson said. “These are the moments we put so much energy into…is to be an Olympian. This is the best chance for [athletes] to really show how amazing track and field is.”