Grant Holloway has become synonymous with the men’s 110m hurdles. But shouldn’t he? Multi-time world champ? Check. Olympic gold medalist? Check. And multiple records, such as his 7.29-second time in the 60m hurdles, have made him a living legend. But here’s the twist—his grip on the throne might be slipping. With Holloway missing in action, someone else just stole the spotlight in his event at the Diamond League in Keqiao, China, on Saturday (3 May). And just like that, the race for hurdle king is officially wide open.

Well, recently, 24-year-old American hurdler Cordell Tinch made one heck of a statement—and the track’s still buzzing. At the Diamond League in Keqiao, he blew everyone away with a blistering 12.87 in the 110m hurdles. Personal best? Check. Meet record? Check. Tying Dayron Robles’ career best? Check. Oh, and just to make things even more wild, he’d already pulled off a shocking win over world record holder Grant Holloway the week before in Xiamen.

“I felt like I was going to run something fast,” Tinch said, and, well, that’s an understatement. Now sitting behind only Aries Merritt, Holloway, and Devon Allen on the all-time list, he’s officially the fourth-fastest man in history. But it wasn’t just about his time—he took down some serious competition, too. Olympic champ Hansle Parchment? Gone.

Japan’s Rachid Muratake? Second place on 13.10. And Olympic bronze medalist Rasheed Broadbell? Third in 13.24. Fans? They’re losing it. Social media is blowing up with love, hype, and a lot of people asking, “Is this the new king of hurdles?” Because Cordell Tinch just showed us all—he’s got the crown in his sights.

Tinch is closing in on Grant Holloway

One fan added, “Yeah, he’s giving Grant Holloway a hard time this year lol.” And another added, “Tebogo might be afraid of him now.” And honestly, Cordell Tinch might just be doing that! Grant Holloway is still owning the 60m hurdles, holding the world record at 7.27 seconds from the 2024 U.S. Indoor Championships. His 110m hurdles personal best is 12.81 seconds, and he’s been unstoppable, grabbing his third World Indoor Championship title in March 2025 with a season best of 7.36 seconds.

His unbeaten indoor streak? A whopping 94 races! Meanwhile, Tinch is lighting up the 110m hurdles, with a personal best of 12.87 seconds, matching it at the 2025 Shanghai Diamond League. His season’s best? Yep, also 12.87 seconds, pushing him to fourth on the all-time list. These two are making hurdles exciting, and the competition’s getting intense!

One fan dropped a comment saying, “I’ve seen enough. 12.7 within the next few weeks,” and another added, “Dude, he’s on fire right now—his 13.06 last week looked easy and was super underrated.” Another fan couldn’t contain the hype: “I love to see it!” Well, Cordell Tinch’s rise has been nothing short of impressive. It all kicked off in June 2023 when he ran a world-leading 12.96 seconds at the Trackwired Arkansas Grand Prix, setting a personal best and landing him at No. 11 on the U.S. all-time list.

He followed that up by finishing 2nd at the U.S. Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, with a 13.08, securing a spot on Team USA. Fast forward to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, where Tinch advanced to the semifinals with a 13.33 but narrowly missed the finals. That didn’t slow him down, though. By 2025, he was making waves internationally.

At the Shanghai-Keqiao Diamond League, he matched Dayron Robles’ career best of 12.87 seconds, landing him 4th on the all-time list. Tinch isn’t slowing down—far from it. Just a few weeks into the 2025 season, he took home the 110m hurdles title at the Xiamen Diamond League. If he keeps this up, that 12.7 fans are predicting could be in his reach sooner than anyone thinks!