Grant Holloway all the Way
by Steve McGill
For this month’s great race, we don’t have to go too far back in the day. Instead, we will look at an instant classic – the men’s 60 meter hurdle final at the NCAA Indoor Championships last week. It was electrifying and awe-inspiring to watch Florida’s Grant Holloway set a new NCAA record and American record in the event with a blistering 7.35. It was equally impressive to watch Kentucky’s Daniel Roberts stay right there beside him for almost the whole race, finishing in 7.41. Now everybody who knows me know that I’m not a big fan of indoor track, and that I especially don’t put much stock in a race that include only half of the hurdles that the athletes would have to clear in an outdoor race. But still, when I’m witnessing something that is historical, and that has even more historical implications, then I’m more than willing to recognize and acknowledge that something big is happening, and that something even bigger is about to happen.
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Let’s begin by focusing on the man at center stage – Holloway. Last year, it was evident that he was going to be someone to be reckoned with beyond the collegiate level. That in and of itself was impressive, as it’s not every NCAA champion who successfully makes the transition to the international stage. But with Holloway you could see it coming. Kicking butts and taking names as a freshman is a very rare occurrence in the high hurdles, as the adjustment to the 42’s usually takes a year or two, or even longer in many cases. But Holloway is tall, strong, has the physique of a wide receiver in football, and has very long legs that make it easy for him to step over the hurdles.
My concern last year, however, was that he might not be focused enough on the hurdles to continue to excel. He was running the sprints and even the 4×400 relay, in addition to long jumping. I thought he might be looking to switch to the decathlon at some point, either in college or as a professional. But after NCAA’s, and his indoor season as a whole, in which he as dominated in the hurdles and in the sprints, it’s quite evident that he has all the tools to be a champion at the highest level as a high hurdler, as a sprinter, and most likely as a long jumper as well. The dude is a monster.
And Holloway has improved as a hurdler since last year. He’s lower over the hurdles than he used to be. His lead leg knee doesn’t lock at all anymore. His lead arm action is tight and efficient. His trail leg comes through high and tight and attacks the track on the other side. And his start is beastly. The only hurdler I’ve ever seen with a better 7-step start was Dayron Robles himself. Holloway creates separation before he even gets to hurdle one, much less coming off of hurdle one. I’d have to think that it would be downright intimidating to be lined up beside him.
But Roberts was not intimidated in that NCAA final. An eight-stepper to the first hurdle, he bolted out of the blocks and was right beside Holloway at hurdle one, if not a smidgen ahead. If Roberts could have stayed on balance through the whole race and kept his form, he may have been able to pull off the upset over Holloway. But I’m gonna tell you what happened in that race. I’m gonna break it down for you. Here we go:
The man with the more efficient lead arm won the race. All else being equal, that was the difference. Holloway didn’t run a perfect race. He hit the first hurdle pretty hard. His trail leg was flat on that hurdle. His hips twisted a little bit. But he recovered instantly and ran a flawless race to the finish line.
Roberts, meanwhile, has that Aries Merritt thing going on with his lead arm. Let me go on record as saying I hate that lead arm style. It worked for Aries in 2012 because he tightened it up and mastered the timing of it. Jason Richardson had some success with it too for a year or two. But generally, it’s a very difficult style to master. It’s hard not to lock the knee of the lead leg using that style, because the hand tends to go too high over the head. That’s what I’m talking about when I talk about the timing. In this race, Roberts’ lead leg knee is locking out over every hurdle, causing his trail leg to flatten out more and more as he goes down the track. In a ten-hurdle race he might even fade a little bit over the last two hurdles with the mistakes he’s making. Compare Roberts’ lead arm to Holloway’s. Holloway keeps his in a tight up-and-down motion that pulls the trail leg to the front and creates speed off the hurdle. He was able to sprint off the last hurdle, whereas Roberts was trying to regain balance coming off the last hurdle. At the finish line, only .06 separated the two athletes. I say, the lead arms were the difference.
So yes, that NCAA final was one of the greatest races ever. It belongs in that category. But what I’m most excited about is seeing where Holloway and Roberts where take the event this outdoor season and beyond.
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