Reigning Olympic 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway (USA) has shocklingly crashed out in the semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025, missing out on a medal.
The three-time defending champion finished only sixth in his semi-final on Tuesday (16 September), clocking 13.52 seconds after fading in the second half of the race.
The 27-year-old had been the man to beat for quite some time in his discipline, with three world titles and Paris 2024 Olympic gold to his name. But signs of struggle were already evident in the heats, where he only managed the fourth fastest time (13.27) to move on to the semis.
Holloway was well below his usual form best heading into these world championships. His season’s best of 13.11 ranked him only 13th in the world – a far cry from his best.
His lifetime-best of 12.80 is only one hundredth of a second off the world record.