Home

Olympics

Twitter Erupts as USA’s Grant Holloway Suffers Shocking Loss in 110m Hurdles Race at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Published 08/05/2021, 2:47 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Reuters

Team USA has been disappointing on the tracks during this edition of the Olympics. Failing to win gold in any of the events, the highly favourite athletes have either been bested to silver or shocked to bronze. Grant Holloway, the nation’s final major hope at track gold, failed to deliver on the fleeting medal in the 110m hurdles race. 

Heavily touted to win gold and virtually unbeaten in the race, Holloway seemed clear of the competition. As the race began, he quickly took the lead and looked as if the gold was already in his bag. However, a momentary lapse on his part saw Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment ace ahead and clinch the gold. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

This was by far one of the biggest upsets for Team USA. Holloway, who had bested Parchment in the previous heats, found himself beaten to the final punch. Fans were shocked at this site, and although Holloway took the defeat like a trey sportsman, congratulating and embracing the Jamaican, viewers did not really appreciate this conclusion to USA’s campaign. 

Holloway clocked an impressive 13.09 seconds, a time which was about to win him the race. However, as you can see in the video below, he somehow lost momentum o the final hurdles which cost him the race. A misstep or just unlucky footing may have caused this.

Grant Holloway claims his nerves got the better of him

Hansle Parchment clocked a season’s best timing of 13.04 seconds to pull of the upset and take home the gold. He was joined by fellow Jamaican Ronald Levy, who came third at 13.10 seconds, beating USA’s Devon Allen to bronze. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Olympics stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

“The nerves got the best of me,” Holloway said. “I got a little bit excited towards the end of the race.” (via Tom Schad, USA Today) With just a few metres to go for the prestigious gold medal, one can fairly say that Grant Holloway lost it at the death. Proficient in the indoor 60m hurdles race, he failed to keep the burners going and was outpaced by Parchment who seems to have hit top speed at just the right moment. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Needless to say, we will see Holloway in Paris three years down the line as a more experienced man. This time it was not to be but he will surely have nerves of steel by then, and the gold will not be out of reach. 

WOW! USA’s Allyson Felix Runs Her Fastest Time in 400m Since Becoming a Mother at Tokyo Olympics 2020

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Luke Dias

1,553Articles

One take at a time

Luke Dias is a senior WWE and AEW author at EssentiallySports, having published more than 1000 articles on professional wrestling. Having completed courses in Advanced Writing from the University of California and Media and Ethics from the University of Amsterdam, Luke is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Journalism from Xavier’s College. His tremendous knowledge of WWE history enables him to make past connections, adding depth to the articles.
Show More>