13 seconds goes by in a flash.
Grant Holloway devotes his life to preparing himself for those 13 seconds, give or take a few hundredths. As a short-distance hurdler, that’s the job. And no one on Earth has mastered it quite like Holloway, who erupted down the Paris Olympic track to claim his first gold medal. It took him 12.99 seconds, so take a hundredth off those 13.
“I've been trying for this moment for three years,” Holloway told NBC Olympics hours after his Olympic title. “I’ve been doing World Indoor Championships, doing outdoor championships, hammering out the Diamond League circuit."
It was all to get me ready for this moment, the moment for me to seize it.
It’s a huge investment for those golden 13-or-so seconds — daily, grueling practices, costly flights across the globe, time away from family and friends. The physical toil is brutal and painful. The mental preparation requires laser focus and tunnel vision on the goal: Olympic gold.
For Holloway, that goal became especially pertinent after falling short at the Tokyo Games, where Jamaican Hansle Parchment edged him at the finish line by just five hundredths of a second. Holloway took silver — not good enough.
“It's a sour taste in my mouth,” Holloway said in May. “I was only 23. And I'm 26 now, so I’ve seen a lot of moons and a lot of sunshine since then.”
He also trained his mind and body to own the moment, and it paid off with his gold medal in Paris. Holloway took gold by a tenth of a second over U.S. teammate and silver medalist Daniel Roberts.
“It was exactly what I trained for,” Holloway said. “I put myself in these high-pressure situations. I just wanted to just make sure that when the gun went off, I took care of my lane, my space. So I put enough of a gap to where I kind of had it squared away. I just had to make sure I didn't knock down any hurdles.”
The physical practice is obvious, but Holloway always points to his mental training first as the key to gold.
“It's a lot of mental work,” Holloway said. “You need a lot of mental fortitude. I say, ‘Alright, if I don't do this, let's do some push-ups.' It's like a punishment. You put yourself through those situations so that you know exactly what you need to do to win.
“And you know, my coach calls me crazy sometimes because I kept saying, ‘Again, again, again, again.’ I just want to make sure that practice makes permanent. And as I always say, ‘Permanent makes paper.’"
In Paris, permanent made gold. Holloway has completed the career “grand slam” on the track: a world title, world indoor title, Diamond League title and now, Olympic title. Those push-ups, the punishments that even his coach, Mike Holloway (no relation), called “crazy,” the intense mental focus — it all paid off in Paris.
“I’ve accomplished all my lifetime goals,” Holloway said. “I turned pro in 2019, so in almost five years I accomplished everything that I wanted to do in track and field. So this is the tough part, I have to continue to find ways to get motivated.”
Aries Merritt’s world record of 12.80 seconds is hanging low for Holloway to knock off next. He hit 12.81 in 2021 and is a candidate to shatter the record on any given day.
As with anything in Holloway’s world, he’ll lock in to topple that mark — and anything that comes his way, for that matter. He’s an all-around freak athlete who has competed in almost every event possible, from the long and high jumps to the 60m, 100m, 200m, 300m and 400m sprints.
“As long as I'm able to take care of my land and my space, I can do anything,” Holloway said. “Whenever my name is called, I'll be ready for that moment.”