Google Hurdles was the very first interactive Doodle in the 2012 London Olympics series, launching on August 7, 2012. It’s a classic button-mashing sprint game that had offices around the world competing for the fastest times and tanking productivity for the day. The game resembles those old-school 80s track and field arcade games where you hammer keys as fast as humanly possible — simple concept, surprisingly difficult to master.
The Doodle kicked off what became an incredible four-game run during the second week of the Olympics, followed by Basketball, Slalom Canoe, and Soccer. Google’s Doodle team leader Ryan Germick noted how challenging it was to create a game that millions could understand without instructions and play simultaneously. The real 100m hurdles at those Games saw Australia’s Sally Pearson take gold, with Americans Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells claiming silver and bronze. Most of us at our keyboards weren’t competing at quite that level.
The gameplay is pure button-bashing nostalgia. You control a hurdler running down the track, tapping the left and right arrow keys as fast as possible to build up speed. When you approach a hurdle, hit the spacebar (or up arrow) to jump. The timing is everything — jump too early or too late and you’ll clip the hurdle, slowing your athlete down and making the next obstacles even harder to clear. Hit one hurdle and your dreams of that three-star gold medal ranking are basically over.
Competitive players developed specific techniques for optimal speed. Some used their index fingers on left and right arrows with their pinky hitting the spacebar. Others alternated with index and middle fingers on one hand while the other hand handled jumping. The best recorded times hovered around 10-11 seconds, though most casual players landed somewhere in the 12-15 second range. The speedrunning community still tracks records for this one.
How To Play Google Hurdles
Press the play button to get your runner into starting position, then press again to begin the race.
Rapidly tap the left and right arrow keys to make your athlete run faster. The quicker you alternate, the more speed you build.
Press the spacebar or up arrow to jump over hurdles. Time your jumps carefully — hitting a hurdle slows you down significantly.
Your goal is to finish in the fastest time possible without knocking over any hurdles. Earn up to three stars based on your performance.
After finishing, you can retry for a better time or share your score. Keep your rhythm consistent and don’t panic at the hurdles.
