Grant Holloway, over the years, has engraved his name into sprinting history. Holloway caught the world’s attention during his time at the University of Florida. He went on to win NCAA Golds in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The glorious collegiate era was soon followed by his performance at the World Championships. Holloway won the gold at the Worlds in 2019, 2022, and 2023 in the 110m hurdles.

But the gold rush doesn’t stop there! Grant Holloway also went on to win gold in the 2022 and 2024 World Indoor Championships for 60m. And that wasn’t the only win he had in 2024. At the Paris Olympics, Holloway went on to win the gold in the 110m hurdles, clocking 12.99, and that came after clocking 12.81s at the trials. The latter made him the second-fastest man in the history of the race. As the Olympic fever ended, the track and field community had its eyes all set on the 2024 Diamond League season. Despite all his dominance this season, his journey has come to a sudden halt.

Grant Holloway: Just 0.02 seconds away from immortality!

Grant Holloway has decided to step out of the Brussels Diamond League finals this season. This comes at an unfortunate time. Holloway this season has clinched gold in Prefontaine Classic, Monaco DL, Silesia DL, and Zürich DL, while his only blemish was a silver medal in Lausanne. But that’s not all that is making his decision a heartbreaking one!

Holloway, coming off his Paris win, is hands down in peak form. His personal best of 12.81 seconds is a mere 0.02 seconds away from beating the world record. The world record is currently held by Aries Merritt, who clocked 12.80 in 2012 at the Diamond League meet in Brussels, Belgium. The 2024 Diamond League was Holloway’s chance to break that record once and for all!

Former Bahamian sprinter Rodney Green talking about Holloway in a recent podcast went on to say, “Grant Holloway, he ran 12.99, man. He is officially the guy who’s run the most sub-13s in the event… in the history of the event.” The world is far from giving up on Grant Holloway. Green also went on to add, “Once he closes out the world record, man, he is undoubtedly, indisputably the best ever that the event has ever seen from the dawn of time.” Co-host Justin Gatlin joined in with his own 2 cents: “He’s the G.O.A.T.”

Gatlin also believes that Holloway has limited his skills to hurdles. Whereas in reality, Holloway could be a big name in other sporting events too, “He’s the full package. He has it all. He’s done everything he could do in his event, bro. Now what you gonna move on to, Grant? What event you gonna move? First of all, break this world record, man… We need you to break this world record, bring it, and then go in there and run the 4×1. We know you—we need you on the 4×1, and go run; I don’t know—what other event?” wondered Justin.

Rodney Green and Justin Gatlin went back and forth discussing the possibilities of Holloway in 200m. Green playfully went on to say, “He should have Adidas write that in his contract. You know, ‘Hey, look, as I get this world record, I want to experiment, man. Y’all write me some time bonuses for the 200, 100, and other things, and let’s—let’s—let me see what I could do!’ I ain’t saying that he would be like a podium contender, oh, but I definitely think he could sub-20. He has the strength and the speed for it.” But right now, the question remains…

Why exactly did Holloway step out of the Diamond League?

After Holloway’s 12.99-second performance at the Zurich Diamond League, he set a record for the most sub-13-second runs in the 110m hurdles. Fans expected to see him on the podium in Brussels. Instead, the track and field world saw a sudden pullout. To the world’s surprise, it turns out that Grant Holloway’s decision to step out was not a spontaneous decision.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Athletics – Men’s 110m Hurdles – Final – Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan – August 5, 2021. Silver medallist Grant Holloway of the United States in action REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonHolloway hit a wall with the Diamond League organizers over the terms of his appearance fee. He had no intention of backing out quietly either. Holloway took it to X and wrote, “I will not be participating in the Brussels Diamond League final due to failure to reach agreements on the terms of my participation between my team and the meeting directors of the Diamond League. Shame that they doing athletes like that.”

Despite the disappointing news, Holloway has left not many stones unturned this year. Recently, in an interview, Holloway went on to say, “I didn’t really care about running, to be honest. Like, most of these is just checking the box for me.” Grant Holloway’s attitude and remark tell us that this withdrawal from the Brussels final might just be the start of a new chapter he writes for the season to come!