The 2025 season has not been very much justifiable of the name Grant Holloway. To begin with, he started it great, not losing a single race in the indoor season. Whether it’s 50m or 60m, he captured it all. He secured his third straight World Indoor title in the 60 m hurdles at the Nanjing Indoor Championships, clocking 7.42 seconds and extending a win streak that spans over a decade. But as soon as he stepped foot on the outside track, things went downhill.

He started with a win in the Tom Jones Memorial at the heats, but then he lost the finals. And then came the Xiamen Diamond League, and the Olympian crossed the line in 13.72 seconds to finish 10th. Unbelievable. He has only won two races of the 8 he has laced his shoes for. And not very good news comes from the Silesia Diamond League either. What does he have to say?

“The atmosphere here is great, as usual. It was not my best day, and it has not been my best year so far. But I am working hard on figuring it out. These competitions are just building blocks on the way to the World Championships. I am still optimistic about doing well there,” said Holloway after his 110m hurdles race. The Olympian clocked a time of 13.15 seconds to finish second in the race. Another number 1 lost this season, not very much like him.

Cordell Tinch was the one to go beyond the Grand Slam champion with a time of 13.03 seconds, much ahead of the Olympian. “I competed well, I ran well. Coming into this year, it is just a lot of confidence that I got. In the US it is sometimes hard to find yourself with all those fast hurdlers. But my mindset this year is: I am the best,” he said after the race.

But he did for forget to mention Grant, saying, “In a field like that with Grant Holloway, you got to take on those wins and build on that. It is always tough with Grant next to you. When you are racing with him, it is a matter of putting yourself in a good position, and I managed that today.”

He then admitted that he will have to watch the race to tell more about his execution. Grant Holloway, though, has eyes on him. Not just from the fans but also legends of the sport as well.

Justin Gatlin Weighed In on Grant Holloway’s Form

On the episode of Ready Set go that aired on June 29, Justin Gatlin, reflecting on Holloway’s form, said, “He [Grant] seemed not as sharp and aggressive as he usually is over the hurdle and off hurdles…Right. So that tells me he might be a little rusty. That’s it.” There was no debating what he said because by that time, he had only won one race in 110m and made a hat-trick of losses in the Diamond League.

He added, “Two years ago, 13.1 would have won races for him,”. Sure enough, but not today, not in 2025, not in the Tokyo World Championships. Let’s look at the USATF championships, for example. Ja’Kobe Tharp won the finals with a time of 13.01 seconds. Holloway on the other side only raced in the heats and the semi finals, finishing 1st(13.15) and 2nd (13.18)respectively.

Gatlin had reassured that Holloway had time, but it has been almost two months, and there are weeks to go for the Worlds. Can he regain his form in time for it?