The Olympics champions have opened up on the intrigues that make the Olympics Games look ‘stupid’ given what athletes put in for four years.
Olympics champions Noah Lyles, Grant Holloway and Rai Benjamin agree that the whole setup that leads to the prestigious games can make it look ‘stupid.’
The three clinched gold medals at the Paris 2004 Games, Lyles claiming 100m, Holloway 110m hurdles while Benjamin claimed the 400m hurdles title, yet getting to that one moment was as a result of working for four years.
The three sprinters say a lot of hard work goes on for those four years waiting for that one moment that can be decided in seconds whether you win or lose while the rewards are also not commensurate with what they put in.
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“We train four years seven days a week, 8-5, for just one moment and I tell everybody it’s as stupid as f**k but it is what we do to achieve our goals,” said Holloway on the Beyond the Records podcast.
American Grant Holloway has been one of the most consistent 110m hurdlers for the past few seasons but achieved a new feat this year after his glory in Paris.
“I have always wanted to go to the next level but I never thought I could go to the next level. I was always like: ‘ If I could get in the mix, I am happy’ but now it is like getting in the mix is a standard, winning becomes a standard and as soon as you lose, you look yourself in the mirror and it is like it’s not a bad loss.
“Like we all got third and Rai got second at [past] Olympics but, for Rai, everybody expected him to win and that is the expectation we are at now. So, if we don’t win, we have clearly failed to our standards and we need to be able to raise it and do the next thing.
“It is stupid because training four years for one moment and you don’t know if you will get that moment back?”
Lyles weighed in on what makes the moment ‘stupid,’ saying: “The real reason is stupid is I don’t get paid enough.”
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Marcell Jacobs is set to begin his 2025 season at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 2, facing rival Noah Lyles as he eyes redemption.
It is the same opinion shared by Benjamin, who feels athletes miss out on a lot for this moment of glory yet end up with very little in their bank accounts.
“It is crazy the amount of work and each and every year, I get more appreciative of how hard this thing actually is and how accountable you have to be to yourself and the accountability you have to hold your team to because at the end of the day, you are trusting them, paying them to get you to a certain point,” said Benjamin.
“It sucks because we don’t get paid enough. You sacrifice so much; you miss out on so much and you don’t have the ability to live your 20s like everybody else does.”
