US' Grant Holloway crosses the finish line ahead of Jamaica's Rasheed Broadbell in the men's 110m hurdles final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 8, 2024. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP) (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)
Athletes rarely enjoy as much success as Grant Holloway does right now. His three world titles from Doha in 2019 to Eugene in 2022 and Budapest in 2023 were topped by an Olympic 110m hurdles gold in Paris. At 26, he is the world record holder in the indoor 60m hurdles and seems to be close to breaking Aries Merritt’s outdoor mark of 12.80. Despite this, he doesn’t feel like a sponsor. “The USATF doesn’t want my talent. I’m like the lost kid on Toy Story,” he said in Paris shortly after winning gold.
“I think I’m one of the top five athletes in this sport and yet I get treated lesser than (that),” Holloway says, adding that he excels in one of the hardest events in athletics (no one boasts more sub-13-second performances over 110m hurdles). Every day, I’m the one taking home world titles, yet I don’t have a watch deal. I make things happen and put the USA on the map, yet I don’t receive some of the sponsorships that other athletes who haven’t accomplished as much as I have do.
Not much more than an hour or two after winning the gold in the Olympics, Holloway was also speaking. “I believe my personality and package are complete. I’m able to communicate. However, I feel that it’s unjust that they (USATF) directed their efforts in other directions. However, I play the hand I’m dealt,” he groaned. One of the biggest injustices in sports, since there are multiple sports, is that certain sportsmen are able to make more money and become more well-known than others.
