Grant Hollloway, who is the reigning 110mH Olympic champion, has revealed the one thing about being a track and field athlete that is ‘stupid as f***’ .
Grant Holloway, a dominant force in the 110 meters hurdles, has voiced his frustrations over the immense pressure placed on athletes to achieve perfection in a single Olympic moment.
Speaking on Beyond the Records podcast, alongside fellow track stars Rai Benjamin and Noah Lyles, Holloway pulled no punches in calling the situation “stupid as f***.”
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Holloway holds the world indoor record in the 60 meters hurdles (7.27 seconds) and is the second-fastest man in 110 meters hurdles history, with a blistering personal best of 12.81 seconds.
Despite his accolades, including a nearly flawless championship record, Holloway has never shied away from addressing the mental and physical toll the sport demands.
Reflecting on his disappointment at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where he narrowly lost the gold to Jamaica’s Hansel Parchment, Holloway admitted that the three-year wait for redemption at the Paris Games was grueling.
He returned to the pinnacle of the sport in 2024, claiming Olympic gold, but the process left him with strong feelings about the nature of Olympic preparation.
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Holloway expressed his frustration with the quadrennial structure of the Olympics, where athletes spend years training for a fleeting opportunity.
“Everybody always says, ‘I want to be an Olympic champion.’ We train for that moment for four years, seven days a week, like 8-to-5, and it is stupid as f***,” Holloway said. “I really do think it’s stupid, but it’s what we do to achieve our goals.”
For Holloway, the stakes are sky-high for every elite athlete, with victory becoming the standard. “As soon as you lose, you look at yourself in the mirror, even when it’s not a bad loss,” he added.
The hurdler highlighted how the pressure to win affects athletes emotionally, citing Rai Benjamin’s heartbreak after falling short of expectations.
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“Rai was balling his eyes out because everyone expected him to win,” Holloway revealed. “That’s the expectation we’re at now. If we don’t win, we clearly failed by our standards, and we need to fix it and do the next thing.”
Holloway acknowledged that while this relentless pursuit of excellence has propelled him to the top, it also underscores the unforgiving nature of the sport.
“I never knew I would get to this level,” he said. “Winning has become the standard, but it’s tough when that’s the only measure of success.”
Holloway’s honest remarks offer a rare insight into the mindset of a champion. His debut podcast episode with Rai Benjamin and Noah Lyles isn’t just a discussion of victories but also of the sacrifices and expectations that define the lives of Olympic athletes.
As Holloway continues to dominate on the track, his willingness to speak openly about the mental challenges of being an Olympian adds another layer to his already extraordinary legacy.
