Grant Holloway after winning the 2019 NCAA Championships and breaking the former collegiate record.
A Generational Talent
If you are involved even remotely in the world of track and field, it is impossible to not hear about the self proclaimed “Wonder Boy” Grant Holloway. In recent years, Holloway established himself as one of the best 110 meter hurdlers to ever live. He broke an abundance of records and won an innumerable amount of races already in his short, but continuing professional career. With no signs of slowing down, both literally and figuratively, Grant Holloway is undoubtedly on track to cement himself as the greatest of all time.
From Hometown to World Podium
Originally from Chesapeake, Virginia, Grant Holloway’s career led him from his hometown to championships around the world. Participating in both football and track in high school, Holloway ultimately made the decision to attend the University of Florida to pursue a career in track. While at Florida, Holloway won eight NCAA championships, four outdoor and four indoor. He also became the SEC conference champion six times in his collegiate career. Alongside these championship titles, Holloway’s presence in collegiate track and field flourished. To name a few prestigious achievements, he broke a 40 year old 110 meter hurdle collegiate record and even won the Bowerman, one of the most coveted awards in collegiate track and field. These achievements are extremely impressive for an athlete to accomplish in college, especially with the constant change of athletic talent every year. After his unwavering determination in college athletics, Holloway turned pro in 2019, which only allowed his success to increase. He earned his first, but not last, world championship gold medal in the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Holloway would later gain two more world championship titles in the 110 meter hurdles, with the most recent in August 2023. In addition to his world championship success, he would also place second, competing for Team USA, in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Leading up to the 2020 Olympics, Holloway also ran the second fastest 110 meter hurdle time in history, only 0.1 seconds off of the world record set nine years earlier. A result of his hard work and confident presence, Holloway has been able to earn almost everything there is to achieve in the world of track and field, but there is no doubt he has his motivations set on the world record for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Holloway poses with the American flag following his win at the World Championships in 2022.
A New Age in Track and Field
Holloway, alongside many other recent and equally impactful track and field athletes, has had the opportunity to bring the sport onto the main stage with his successes. World Records are consistently in danger of being broken as these new athletes run, throw, and jump to new heights. The level of competition is continually developing not only in the collegiate world of track and field, but the professional one, presumably because of the high precedents that athletes like Grant Holloway set in recent years. Athletes in track and field are often not publicly recognized as much as players in other sports, even though they are putting in equal or more work. But, when athletes like Holloway continue to provide life and interest for the sport of track and field, younger generations of track runners become further inspired and determined to break the records set by their heroes.
I am so glad that you brought light to the world of track and field. I feel as if many people do not talk about this sport enough. When I watch these amazing people run during their races I can not even fathom how they move so fast, it is truly fascinating to watch. As for Grant Holloway, it is crazy how many things he has won at such a young age. To break a 40-year-old record is also so cool. I also can only not imagine how upset he must have been to not have broken the fastest 110-meter hurdle time being 0.1 seconds behind. Although he did not break it then, I am sure that this has only made him train harder to make sure he breaks it next time.
This is a really cool topic to write about, the dedication that professional runners have is really interesting and inspiring. I actually follow the track world a bit, but I know almost exclusively about the distance events (I ran XC and Track in High School so I’m familiar with names like Kipchoge and Ingebrigtsen). It’d be cool if you covered some of those Titans in distance; I find their dedication to running to be really intriguing because distance just isn’t very fun for me (that’s why I’m not running in college).