Budapest WACs 2023 Day 3: Holloway takes gold, US finishes strong

BUDAPEST – Grant Holloway, the 25-year-old hurdler from Chesapeake, Virginia, cruised to victory in the final round of the men’s 110-meter hurdles on the third day of the Budapest World Athletics Championships. Holloway, running a season-best 12.96 seconds, beat the second-place finisher, Hansle Parchment, by 0.11 seconds.

This jaw-dropping performance by Holloway earned him his third World title. Even more remarkable, they have been back to back to back. He is now the second man ever to accomplish this feat in the 100-meter-hurdle specialty.

“I felt like I finally got my swagger back,” Holloway said. “I’m really happy. The main thing now is just celebrating this win.”

A mere tenth of a second may not sound like much to the average human, but in an elite track event, it is a complete and total blowout. Hansle Parchment, an Olympic champion from Jamaica, was looking to earn his first gold medal at the World Athletics Championships after earning two silvers previously in his career.

Holloway’s American teammates, Daniel Roberts and Freddie Crittenden followed Parchment. Roberts crossed the line in 13.09 seconds, just seven one-hundredths of a second ahead of Crittenden, who ran a season-best of 13.16 seconds.

With Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts bringing home two medals for their country, the USA’s medal count is now up to nine in total – this includes five golds, 2 silvers, and 2 bronzes.

Finishing in fifth place was Shunsuke Izumiya, the young Japanese star who held the world lead for multiple weeks this season. One of his most notable performances was his victory at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting, his first DL appearance.

In sixth, France’s Sasha Zhoya finished at the 13.26-second mark, slower than his personal best of 13.15 seconds which he ran in the semi-final round the day before.

“Grant Holloway might be the world champion, and I respect him,” Zhoya said after the final. “But I’m not going to let him beat me in Paris next year on my home soil.”

The young talent in track and field seems to be budding rivalries amongst the athletes but also attracting quite a bit of attention from track fans, both new and old. As athletes embrace the fame, they seem to want to give back to the sport that has given them so much.

Stars such as Noah Lyles; sprinter, and Tara Davis-Woodhall; long jumper, love to get the crowd involved and share behind-the-scenes moments to bring attention to track and field. Davis-Woodhall and Lyles have both already acquired medals for Team USA, and Lyles hopes to earn a second gold at the world champs in the men’s 200 meters later this week.

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