Holloway vs. Roberts: The Saga Continues
by Steve McGill
A couple months ago I did an analysis of University of Florida stand-out Grant Holloway’s collegiate record race in the 60 meter hurdles, in which he narrowly defeated Kentucky University’s Daniel Roberts. I referred to that race as an “instant classic,” and it is now becoming evident that whenever these two line up against each other (which is often, since they’re in the same conference), we’re looking at a potential instant classic. The SEC outdoor final in the 110’s proved to live up to this standard. This time, Roberts earned the narrow victory.
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Last time, in the indoor race, I argued that Roberts’ wide arm swing and flattening of the trail leg caused balance issues that cost him the race, whereas Holloway kept the lead arm and trail leg knee high and tight in a straight line, enabling him to sprint better off the last hurdle. Well, that logic just got blown out the window by what we saw at SEC Outdoors. Roberts’ technical issues mirrored those that we saw in the indoor final, Holloway’s consistency and efficiency mirrored that of the indoor race, and yet this time Roberts pulled ahead off the last hurdle for the victory. So what gives?
Short answer: I don’t know. But let me try to break it down.
Firstly, we learned back in the day from Allen Johnson that hitting hurdles does not always translate into running slow races. In both the 1995 World Championship final and the 1996 Olympic final, he hit a majority of the hurdles, making significant contact with some of them, bouncing one or two into the air, yet still won the gold both times and still ran sub-13 both times. Johnson taught us two important lessons with those races: when in doubt, always stay fast, and when you hit hurdles, always stay forward. Stay fast, stay forward. So, there is a precedent for what we see Roberts doing. And there have been others, of course. But AJ’s technique, except for his tendency to smack hurdles, was exquisite. He served as the model for the argument that staying fast and staying forward is arguably more important than running clean races.
Secondly, rivalry races are different. Rivals bring out the best in each other. Knowing that you’re going up against the best brings out the best in you. That’s the case with Holloway and Roberts, and Roberts said as much after the race. Add the fact that they’re in the same collegiate conference and you have a scenario where they race against each other often. So, unlike hurdlers who only see Holloway once or twice a year, Roberts isn’t intimidated by him nor in awe of him. He came close enough in the past that he knew he could beat him. The mental part matters. In going up against competition like that, you don’t worry about technique and keeping your race clean; you focus on getting to that finish line first, whatever it takes. That’s what Roberts did.
Though Holloway did run a clean race, he didn’t run a mistake-free race. Mistakes in the hurdles don’t always come in the form of hitting hurdles. It seems to me, when looking at the slow motion replay, that Holloway got a little wobbly between the hurdles coming off hurdle nine, and then even more so coming off hurdle ten. His trail leg was a little wider than it had been earlier in the race, even though it was still high, but it wasn’t in position to attack the track forcefully. Meanwhile, Roberts, who was riding his lead leg all the way down the track, got his lead leg back on the ground quickly after clearing the last hurdle, kept his upper body weight forward off the hurdle, and just kept pushing through the line. There was a point in the race, about halfway through, when Holloway was clearly ahead. Roberts didn’t pass him until the run-in off the last hurdle. Overall, Roberts showed that he can run from behind without panicking. He also showed that, in a ten-hurdle race, his technique, despite its flaws, is good enough to get him to the finish line first.
Of course, I have to admit that the purist in me isn’t feeling this at all. All things being equal, the victory should go to the man who runs the cleaner race, right? I know it doesn’t always work out that way, but dang. What do I tell my athletes who see this race and wonder what they need to work on to get better? Do I tell them to go ahead and bust up the hurdles? Do I teach them how to strategically hit hurdles in such a way that it causes minimal loss of velocity? I’m not on a soapbox here; I’m just pointing out that the freedom that hurdlers have to smack hurdles left and right and still run fast is troubling from a coaching perspective.
If it were up to me, there would be penalties for hitting hurdles. There are weights on the hurdles now. The rule should be, if you hit a hurdle so hard that it stays on the ground, you get a deduction in your overall time. How much of a deduction I don’t know, but at least one hundredth of a second per hurdle. The point is, something must be done to encourage running clean races. The art form of hurdling has to at least be considered, and preferably honored. Always, and I’m talking always, if I’m watching hurdle races and I’m sitting with non-hurdle people, they will ask, “They’re allowed to do that?” or “Is there no penalty for knocking down the hurdles?” I think it takes away from the credibility of the event when you see half the hurdles flat on the track after a race.
None of what I said above is in the spirit of hating on Roberts. I love his attitude, I love his aggressiveness, and I love his competitive spirit. Arguably, he has more potential than Holloway, because if he does clean up his mistakes and maintains the speed and aggression we’re already seeing, there’s no reason he won’t soon be running sub-13’s on a regular basis.
What can be said for sure is that American hurdling has a bright future with these two young guys leading the way. After David Oliver retired, the struggle has been real to find someone to take up the mantle. These two seem ready to step up right now. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out, with the NCAA Championships, the USA Championships, and the World Championships coming up.
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