Grant Holloway is coming back from the 2024 Paris Olympics as an Olympic Gold medalist.
The track and field star came up gold in the 110-meter hurdles. Holloway finished in 12.99 seconds, beating out Team USA teammate Daniel Roberts, who earned silver, and Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica, who earned bronze.
As Holloway described, the feat shows how much he’s grown and matured since his showing in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics.
Blavity got the chance to speak with him after his win to learn how he feels about being part of track and field’s elite and how P&G has helped him prepare while in Paris.
How does it feel now that you can officially call yourself an Olympic gold medalist, and what does this mean to you, especially after Tokyo?
Grant Holloway: Officially calling myself [an] Olympic gold medalist is exactly how it sounds. You know, I’m a gold medalist. That’s etched in history forever, forever along the Olympics been going on. So, you know, I’m definitely looking forward to it, to celebrate with the loved ones and the family back at home. And in Tokyo, I was young. I wasn’t ready, you know, the moment definitely got away from me. But I honestly think it just wasn’t my moment for that. And everything works out for a reason.
How would you describe your journey to get here, as well as the atmosphere in the building once it set in that you won the 110m hurdles?
G.H.: The journey to get here is always tough, you know, it’s no such thing as an easy medal. But I did a lot of mental fortitude, kind of just playing it over and over and over in my head. And, you know, always say practice makes permanent. So I practice if I was getting it wrong, or if I was doing it wrong, I would start over. So if I had five reps and I got it wrong twice, I’m doing seven. I just want to make sure that everything that I’m doing, it kind of leads to the reason why — and my reason why was to be an Olympic champion.
So, when I got out there on the line for the Olympic final, it was nothing that I didn’t play over and over again in my head. And this whole year, I’ve been consistent with all my movements and everything that I’m doing. So, [it’s] definitely one of the things where I can definitely hold my head up high and say, you know, I did everything that I could do. And once I crossed the finish line and I rang that bell, that’s when it all settled in and I was truly an Olympic champion.
You’re working with P&G, and they provided you all with a welcome kit, which I’m sure helped in packing and not having to worry about certain things when coming to Paris. What do you think is the thing people may be surprised about the most when it comes to Olympians packing for the event?
G.H.: Yeah, it’s definitely tough. You know, when you’re in a village, in a bathroom with your other teammates and you don’t really have your own space, it can be tough because you don’t want to take up the whole bathroom. But with P&G supplying those care package kits for us as we got there — you could only bring a certain number of things and you can still be fine because within the kit it had everything you need. From shampoo, conditioner, body wash, mouthwash, toothpaste, and it goes down the whole nine yards. So, I’m very thankful for P&G. I didn’t even pack a couple things because I knew I was going to have that care package. And, you know, it worked out really, really well, especially the air freshener. You know, when you go in a room with eight other teammates, it can get a little funky in there, soverybody took out the air fresheners and plugged them all around. So I thought that was pretty cool.
What’s one thing in the welcome kit, or any other travel product, that you can’t go without?
G.H.: Definitely [in] my travel kit, it was the toothpaste and a mouthwash. You know, I’m always talking and I’m always in people’s faces. So I try to brush my teeth at least two, three times a day, including morning and night. I always just try to take pride in that. And, you know, to have an extra toothbrush or something in there, I can just keep it in my bag. And whenever I need to do anything, I can definitely use that as a helping tool.
We know you’re still in the moment, as you should be, but do you have any idea what post-Olympics looks like for you?
G.H.: Post-Olympics is going to look good right now. I’m going to keep my season going. I’m probably going to run about five or six more track meets just to keep fit, have some fun, and travel the world with my family and my friends. Afterward, we’ll sit back and relax, go on a little mini vacation, and get ready for next season [in] 2025.
