Over the past few weeks, we have enjoyed watching the Summer Games. We had the pleasure of sitting down the day after with Grant Holloway 2X Team USA Track & Field Olympian (G1, S1) who runs the 100M Hurdles after his Gold Medal winning race! We wanted to know more about what he loves about this particular sport, how he trains, what it meant to be on Team USA and to compete at Paris 2024, partnering with P&G during the games and his collaboration with David Perry Jewelry.
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you loved Track & Field?
GRANT HOLLOWAY: I realized that I loved Track & Field probably around my Sophomore year in college around 2018. I really started developing a love/hate relationship with the sport. I could go out to practice and I could actually see what I was doing and how that was transferring onto track. I think it was 2018 when I started realizing that I was loving the sport.
AM: Everyone has their specialty and yours is the 110m Hurdles, what is that you love about doing this?
GH: The 100M Hurdles is a sexy event, you know? You have to be as fast as the fastest man in the world, but you also have to be as athletic as a Long Jumper and I think that when you add those 2 things together, that’s what makes a Hurdler so special. I’ve really enjoyed doing the hurdles obviously and everybody says that I am a Sprinter that Hurdles so I like to take that as a compliment because I could Sprint, but I choose the Hurdles.
AM: What’s an average week like training for this and what are 3 workouts that we should think about including into all of our routines?
GH: Throughout the week, it kind of depends on the phase! Obviously, we’re at the Olympic Games so it was a lot of resting and recovery throughout the week.
3 workouts that I did while I was here was something called Jog & Stride. You’re literally on a track, it’s 400m. You have 2 turns and 2 straights. So I would jog the turns and walk the straights for about a mile which is 4 laps.
Another workout I did was over 7 hurdles and just kind of getting into that race model. I don’t advise anybody to do that unless you’re an actual professional Hurdler. But that is another one that I did!
Then I also did something called a Rest Day. It’s where you step away from Track & Field and you turn the switch off. It allows you to actually get away from it. I think that when we’re always on go for Hurdling and not even just on Hurdling, but for anything in general – you don’t really get the full benefit. So when you are able to step away and to recharge, and to come back to it, I think that you have better results.
AM: I love watching races that include Hurdles and we have memories of gym class where we had such anxiety when it came to having to do them in our sessions. What are 3 tips that you have in maintaining your speed while jumping hurdles?
GH: Maintaining speed is definitely the key component when it comes to hurdling so that is something that I still struggle with to this day. If you just kind of do Rhythm Runs – you start at the 100m and you run all the way down to the finish line, you want to be able to keep the same rhythm from when you started the race to the end of the race. So I think that that is something that you can do as a Hurdler. You have to have some kind of rhythm so once you do that a couple of times, add the hurdles in and just put them on the regular marks and then honestly, just do dry runs on the event. Not going too fast and yet not going too slow at the same time. It’s about doing it so that you feel the rhythm of the race and you know what it feels like. Obviously, towards the end, you want to be able to finish. Anything that comes to endurance – if you have to run a mile or do anything to get it under your belt, you have to do it so that you have that endurance to be able to sprint 110M!
AM: What did it mean to you to be on Team USA for the Paris 2024 Summer Games?
GH: It meant the world to me to be on Team USA. It’s the hardest team to make out of all of the teams and all of the countries here. Team USA is definitely the hardest one. So, I just wanted to really take pride as the #1 Hurdler not only in the US, but in the world. I just wanted to show everybody how hard it is and it’s not every day that you can have a Hurdler come out to be a US Champ as well as you know, an Olympic Champ! So for me, I think that that is the true meaning of being a Champion. I’m looking forward to just be able to continue to do that.
AM: What’s it like being in the Olympic Village?
GH: Being in the Olympic Village, it’s nice! Obviously, there are so many amenities that you can use! P&G has a Salon where everybody can go in and look their best for Game Day. I think that that is always a huge tip to somebody’s success. They always say that when you look good, you feel good and when you feel good, you run good! And when you run good, they pay good as Deion Sanders says! I just think that It’s always cool and that’s the best thing about The Village, that you can go somewhere, and you can be able to look your best before a run and the biggest moment in your life!
AM: You received the Silver medal in the Summer Games at Tokyo 2020 and we had the pleasure to see you at the Summer Games of Paris 2024. What does it mean to you to be a 2X Olympian and to win Gold?
GH: Yeah, to be a 2X Olympian and to win Gold this time, means the world to me! 3 years ago, I was a little bit immature and inexperienced in the event and I didn’t exactly understand what the event took to be a true Champion. I have done it once, but I didn’t do it multiple times. To be an Olympic Champion now and to run a sub 13 performance and to tie one of my mentors and greats, Allen Johnson (G1) in this event, I think that it is always a true humbling feeling.
AM: Do you have any routines that you do ahead of your event to get energized?
GH: Before the meets, it’s just a lot of preparation. It’s just like before you make dinner, you have to prepare the food regardless of whether you’re making tacos or spaghetti. You have to be able to prep the food, so that’s the same thing that I do as a Hurdler. I always try to prep my body, give it the good treatment, get a good night’s rest, and then do everything that I need to do in order to succeed the next day.
AM: Besides winning Gold, what did you love about being at these games?
GH: Being at these Games, it was great! To be in the Olympic Village, I think that it’s really cool to see other athletes from other countries and different backgrounds. Not just Team USA being in one corner, but you see Great Britain, you see Nigeria, you see Botswana – you see all of the different cultures mingling together. I think that that is always a really cool experience. Especially when you get to trade pins. To be able to trade USA pins and to get something in return, you’re able to show your family that you have this pin from this country and you never know who you may run into – a friend, relative and you can give them that pin and say that you were thinking about them in this moment.
AM: Will you be at Closing Ceremonies?
GH: Closing Ceremonies is definitely on the ballot just to say that I did it. I did the Opening Ceremonies and it was long, but one thing about me is that I want to be able to say that I did exactly what I wanted to do and even if I don’t do it in LA 2028 or ever again, I can tell my friends and family that I was able to do it an Opening and Closing Ceremony at least once!
