Surprise gift to MOWA from former high jump hurdler Holloway | News | Heritage

As a multiple world record breaker and four-time world gold medalist, Grant Holloway is no stranger to making history.

However, it is not a given for him to have such history recognized by being included in the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA).

In August, a donation ceremony held at the Museum Exhibition Center in Budapest, host city of the World Championships in Athletics, began with long-planned donations from several athletes who, two days earlier, had won their third world title in the 110m hurdles. The match ended with Holloway’s surprising announcement. He had decided to donate the kit he used in that race to the museum’s collection.

Holloway’s singlet, bib with his name on it, right spike, and the American flag draped over his shoulder after his victory were accepted by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe on behalf of MOWA.

Grant Holloway singlet and name bib from Budapest (© MOWA)

Holloway said he was proud to be included in the pantheon housing contest’s entries of the greatest athletes of all time.

“It’s great to be part of history forever. To be honest, it’s just donating things,” he said.

“I’m used to just going to these history museums and looking at history, but it’s great to actually be a part of the history that I love.”

Break Jackson’s Ancient World Indoor Record

Holloway’s third consecutive World Athletics Championship victory in Budapest was the fastest of the three events, with his 12.96 just 0.05 seconds shy of the 1993 championship record in Stuttgart. There wasn’t. Colin Jackson’s 12.91 points set the world record.

Holloway won his first world title in Doha in 2019 with a time of 13.10 seconds. He improved that mark by 0.07 to 13.03 in his second win at Oregon State in 2022. His win last year saw a further 0.07 improvement, putting his fourth win in Tokyo in 2025 in doubt.

Those World Athletics Championships included Holloway’s 2022 World Indoor 60m Hurdles title. He ran a 7.39 to win in Belgrade and matched his world record by running a 7.29 in the semifinals.

Holloway set the world record the year before at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold Championships in Madrid, erasing the long-standing record of 7.30 seconds set by Jackson in Sindelfingen in 1994.

Grant Holloway wins Belgrade 22 World Indoor Championships (© Getty Images)

Now, Holloway has just broken the world record again and heads to the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow 24 to defend her title. Competing at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Albuquerque on Friday, the 26-year-old won his heat in 7.27 seconds, shaving 0.02 seconds off the previous world record.

“Once I got out of the blocks, I knew it was going to be a good match,” Holloway said, calling retaining the world indoor title her “main goal” this season.

Won state title with 2.16 meter high jump

Holloway attended high school in Chesapeake, Virginia, near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, just south of Norfolk. Holloway and his older brother Trey were the workhorses in breaking the 39-inch hurdle in Virginia’s high school hurdles his fifth year in a row. Trey won the state high school title his senior year in 2012, and Grant followed suit two years later as a high school sophomore, winning his first of three consecutive state championships.

But Holloway wasn’t as good over hurdles as he was in the high jump during his freshman season at Grassfield High School. Holloway was a freshman in 2013 when she cleared 2.11 meters when she defeated the eventual state champion. This performance placed Holloway second on the state high jump list that year, although her August hurdles personal best of 14.22 was only fourth.

In 2014, as a sophomore, Holloway ran a season-best 14.11 seconds, making her the third-fastest in the state and winning her first state championship in the hurdles. He also ran a time of 37.73 seconds, making him the third fastest time in Virginia this year.

But again, it was in the high jump that he was strongest, breaking 2.16 meters to win the state championship, making him the best jumper in the state and tied for fourth among high school students in the United States.

Holloway received national recognition as a high school senior and is currently showing himself as a future national-class athlete in four sports.

In 2015, he won his second state title in both the hurdles (wind-assisted 13.61 meters) and high jump (2.03 meters), following previous personal bests of 2.08 meters.

His legal best time for hurdles was 13.75 seconds, making him the 12th fastest high school student in the nation. He expanded his athletic repertoire by adding the long jump, winning the state title with a high school record of 7.85 meters, one of the top in the nation.

As a bonus, Holloway won the state title in the 300-meter hurdles in 36.73 seconds, finishing ninth in the national high school rankings, and ran 10.68 seconds and 21.54 seconds in the sprints.

After proving nationally competent in both the high jump and long jump hurdles in 2016, Holloway chose to focus more on the 110 meter hurdles and long jump.

That year, he won state titles in both the high jump and long jump events, with personal bests of 13.37 meters (second place among American high school students) and 7.76 meters (second place in the nation), as well as scores of 37.60 meters and 2.08 meters. was recorded. meters, 10.74 and 21.27.

1 place left until London 2017

The following year, Holloway took his talents to the University of Florida, where he worked with coach Mike Holloway (no relation) during his freshman year. That year he removed long hurdles and high jump from his portfolio, eliminating any notions he might have had about decathlon.

He won NCAA titles in both the indoor and outdoor sprint hurdles with bests of 7.58 and 13.39, and was second in the NCAA outdoor long jump with a season-best 8.05 meters. He placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. Championships, one spot short of qualifying for the 2017 World Championships in London.

In 2018, Holloway repeated her win in the NCAA hurdles and placed second in the NCAA long jump, but this time at the indoor championships. His career bests improved to 7.42m, 13.15m and 8.17m, placing him first on the world indoor list and fourth on the world outdoor list for hurdle marks. He finished the outdoor season with a second place finish at the U.S. Championships.

Grant Holloway in 2018 (© Getty Images)

No more long jump

The stage was set for Holloway’s first trip to a world championship in 2019. She won first place in the 60-meter dash and hurdles at the NCAA indoor meet, and placed third in the long jump. At the NCAA outdoor event, she won the hurdles in a time of 12.98 seconds, a season best time and this year’s world fastest mark, and finished 12th in the long jump, the last of her career.

After finishing second at the U.S. Championships, he headed to Doha, Qatar, where he won the first of three world titles in the 110-meter hurdles. It was the beginning of the international stardom that has followed Holloway ever since.

Speaking at the award ceremony in Budapest after winning his third world title in the 110m hurdles, he said: “For the rest of my career, it is important that we build on this and that there will be more in the museum.” I hope it will be exhibited.”

Dave Johnson contributes to World Athletics Heritage