"Shame that they doing athletes like that"- Olympic gold medalist Grant Holloway makes shocking announcement ahead of Brussels Diamond League Final

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Sep 11, 2024 02:25 GMT

Olympic champion hurdler Grant Holloway has surprised many with his latest announcement. He declared that he won't be participating in the Wanda Diamond League finals, scheduled to take place in Brussels on September 13 and 14.

Holloway took to his social media handles to announce his decision while also accusing the organizers of foul play.

Grant Holloway wrote on his X account [formerly Twitter],

"I will not be participating in the Brussels Diamond League final due to failure to reach agreements on the terms of my participation between my team and the meeting directors of the Diamond League. Shame that they doing athletes like that."

Grant Holloway updated the same on his Instagram story, captioning:

"Disagreements with meeting directors force me to skip Brussels Diamond League. #NeverCompeteforLess #BrusselsDL."

Grant Holloway's Instagram story about his unexpected exit from Diamond League finals [Image Source: Grant Holloway's Instagram]

Holloway won the 2022 season of the Wanda Diamond League, the finals of which were held in Zurich. In 2023, Grant Holloway made it to the finals of the Diamond League for the second consecutive time, held in Eugene, Oregon. However, he finished behind Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hansle Parchment from Jamaica, who won the top honors with a timing of 12.93 seconds. Grant Holloway, meanwhile, finished second with a timing of 13.06 seconds.

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Grant Holloway's performances at the Paris Olympics and the Diamond League 2024

Grant Holloway celebrates his victory at the Zurich Diamond League 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

When Grant Holloway made it to the Paris Olympics, he was not only looking forward to upgrading his silver medal from the Tokyo Olympics in the 110m hurdles event but also aiming to restore the USA's reputation. It had been more than a decade since any American had won this event at the Olympics, the last being Aries Merritt, who won the gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012.

Grant Holloway's journey wasn't going to be smooth. However, he made it one by topping the heats with impeccable timings of 13.01 seconds and 12.98 seconds respectively. He took the lead from the word go in the finals and won the race in 12.99 seconds.

However, apart from that, Grant Holloway had performed brilliantly at the Diamond League finals, winning the meets organized at Eugene, Monaco, Silesia, and Zurich respectively. At Zurich Diamond League, he had run the race under 13 seconds for a record 12th time, the most by any athlete in the history of 110m hurdles.

With four victories in the 2024 Diamond League season, Holloway was well within the parameters of direct qualification to the finals being held in Brussels. However, the organizers' disarray has led to the American losing another chance at a sure-shot victory after the Paris Olympics.