by Larry EderOne of the most colorful, charming, talented, eccentric, and honest athletes you could ever meet is Grant Holloway!
When I first interviewed Grant Holloway, it was after the Doha World Championships in October 2019. Grant had just won the 110-meter hurdle final that had fallen, almost falls, DQs, and somehow, Grant kept his cool and took the gold.
Grant Holloway, surveying his world, Madrid, February 2021, photo by World Athletics
In the adidas Hospitality Center post-event, manager John Regis introduced my team to Grant. He was relaxed, and the interview was a lot of fun. I asked myself, how old is this young man?
Grant and I spoke about his race, his goals and his excitement about being a sponsored athlete.
Later, when I spoke with Spencer Nels, the adidas sports marketing guru, Spencer smiled and noted, “Grant is, well, someone very special.”
Indeed he is.
A Grant Holloway remote interview, with 20-30 of your closest media friends is pretty relaxed. It is also early in the morning for many, and Grant was the most awake in the zoom call!
Grant Holloway is open to questions on anything. We even spoke about DK Metcalf and the 100m race he ran a few weeks ago. Grant Holloway believes that track athletes do not get the respect, at times they deserve but he does know that the more people who watch track & field, the better it is for the sport.
Grant has had a tremendous season. His indoor campaign ended as it began, with fast times. He opened in January 2021 with a 7.38 and 7.35 for the 60 meter hurdles, on January 24, 2021. Grant jokingly told the ESPN announcer Lewis Johnson that “coach and I were working on everything up to hurdle 1.”
In the interview on 22 May, I asked Grant where he was now with Coach Mike Holloway (no relation), and Grant noted, “probably the fourth or fifth hurdle.”
Grant Holloway interview, 2021 adidas Boost Boston Games, video by Global Athletics, video editing by Mike Deering /The Shoe Addicts, Grant Holloway-Larry Eder interactions only shown.
Years ago, in an interview with Coach Harry Marra, who steered Ashton Eaton to two Olympic gold medals in the decathlon, Harry noted that “my job is to keep Ashton and Brianne healthy, and keep the mistakes to a minimum.”
Even earlier than that, 1948 and 1952 Olympic gold medalist, the late Bob Mathias told me that to “always remember in the decathlon, there are ten chances to make a mistake.”
I am digressing, but a point is about to be made.
In the Saturday interview, a prominent reporter noted that, with 3 rounds in the 110m hurdles, and a final, Grant Holloway has 40 chances to make an error.
The 110m hurdles are about controlling speed and hurdling. It is about staying focused. It is about keeping one’s cool when the world is burning around them. One must be a Zen master.
Grant Holloway is a Zen master in the 110-meter hurdles. He did not know what was happening in Doha, as he focused on his race. Grant gets out fast, and he begins this series of complicated technical maneuvers where one controls the speed and position over the hurdles and the braking between the hurdles.
Grant Holloway, 60m hurdles WR, photo via TV by Stuart Weir
How does Grant see his World record? He was happy, but the focus is Tokyo.
I asked Grant about practicing in tough conditions, noting that 1968 Olympic decathlete gold medalist Bill Toomey would practice the high jump in the rain in Santa Barbara. In Mexico, not only did it rain in the decathlon high jump, another team hid his vault poles (some were broken too).
Grant Holloway is a fine athlete, but he also knows that he has to get through Eugene, Oregon, and the 2021 Olympic Trials. Holloway takes nothing for granted.
Today, May 23, 2021, Grant Holloway is competing in the 110m hurdles on the adidas Boost Boston street games, a unique event in North America.
Do not miss Grant Holloway today! It will be something spectacular!
The 2021 adidas Boston Boost Games will be held on Sunday, May 23, 2021. The meet will go from 8:30 AM until 6 PM Eastern time. The TV window is NBC in the US, from 4:30 PM to 6 PM Eastern Daylight Time.
Here are the details on the 2021 adidas Boost Boston Games:
It’s time to take to the streets 🛣ï¸
Here’s everything you need for today’s @adidasBoostBos.#ContinentalTourGold
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 23, 2021
