The Coaches Hall of Fame, multiple USTFCCCA and SEC awards, and coaching multiple Olympic medalists, including Grant Holloway, who’s representing the USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, are just some aspects that describe Mike Holloway’s career so far. However, those are still related to his professional life, but what about his personal life? 

Surprisingly, much of his life has been dedicated to coaching, with various events helping to shape his career. Let’s explore Coach Holloway’s story and learn more about the person he is outside of track and field.

What does the personal life of Mike Holloway look like? 

Michael Dwayne Holloway, aka Mike Holloway, was born in 1959 and is a resident of Columbus, Ohio. There is no information available about his early life, parents, or exact date of birth. Coach Holloway attended the University of Florida, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2000. The 65-year-old is married to the former Angela Fitts. The couple is blessed with a son named Michael II and a daughter named Michele. As per reports from the Florida Gators website, his children are married as well. Thanks to that, Mike Holloway has four grandchildren as well.

Although the 65-year-old is one of the most famous coaches with multiple awards to his name, he doesn’t seem like a very social person and doesn’t have an Instagram account. Yes, he has an X account, @HeadGatorTRK, but hasn’t posted anything since June 2023. Many were wondering whether Coach Holloway had any kind of blood relation with Grant Holloway; there is not. However, there seems to be a different type of attachment between these two, as Mike Holloway’s X account’s profile picture shows the flamingo. While the coach led a normal life in his early days, the same cannot be said for his career. 

What kind of coaching experience has Mike Holloway had throughout his career?

While studying history at the University of Florida, Mike Holloway was also working as the assistant coach for the men’s track and field team. Interestingly, he was also working as the head coach of the track team at Buchholz High School in Gainesville from 1995 to 2002. Two years after graduating, he took on the job of head coach for the Gators men’s and women’s track and field teams after the outdoor season.

Surprisingly, he became the first to guide both teams. He became the assistant coach for the U.S. track and field team for the 2012 London Olympic Games. His expertise granted him another opportunity in 2013, and the 65-year-old became head coach for the 2013 IAAF World Track and Field Championship for Team USA men’s track and field.

Throughout these years, Mike Holloway has had multiple USTFCCCA and SEC awards to his name. Not only that, Coach Holloway has also trained multiple Olympic medalists, including the latest one, Grant Holloway, who won a silver medal in the 2020 Olympics. Speaking of the Olympics, he has coached an Olympian every year since 1992. In the year 2024, the pair is still working together. 

How did Mike Holloway and Grant Holloway meet?

It happened in 2017, three years before Grant Holloway won his silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Initially, the athlete had two interests: football and track and field. He even had a desire to continue football as the main sport and wanted to try for the NFL. However, he had a desire to be an Olympian and thought track and field would be a reasonable choice.

Not long after making the decision, Grant Holloway called his coach and said, “I don’t want to play football anymore.” Coach Holloway talked about it and said, “We had a good talk about it, and I told him he needed to have a talk with his parents. That was a very magical time for us because now we see what it led to,” as per the UF Health website.

Since then, both of them have been working together, and Grant Holloway has claimed three world championships under the guidance of his coach.

Can Grant Holloway, with the help of his coach, bring home the gold this time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.