Brent Nieter, a teacher and track coach at Great Bridge Middle School in Chesapeake, has written letters to students for years.
One of those went to Grant Holloway, advising him how to hold the American flag.
“I told him to keep the stars on his right,” Nieter said recently. “Grant came up to me and said, ‘Coach, what are you talking about?’ I told him, ‘When they hand you the United States flag at the Olympics, I want to make sure you put your stars in your right hand. That way you won’t be holding the flag backwards.’ He laughed and said, ‘Whatever.'”
Holloway was in middle school at the time, and had no idea what the future would hold.
Nieter did.
Since, then Holloway has had plenty of practice holding the flag. He’s a three-time track and field world champion and an Olympic silver medalist in the 110-meter hurdles. Each time, he held the flag proudly.
When Holloway won silver three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, Nieter texted him the day of the finals.
“I told him, ‘Stars on the right,'” Nieter said. “And he sent me a picture of himself after winning silver.”
Holloway, 26 and a graduate of Grassfield High, hopes again to hold the Stars and Stripes at the Paris Games. He’s a heavy favorite to be holding something else: a gold medal.
“Almost a decade ago, I was still at Grassfield High,” Holloway said in a telephone interview before leaving for Paris. “I wouldn’t call it an overnight success because you know how hard I worked at my craft. But for me, I think the biggest thing is just living in the moment.”
Holloway is arguably one of the greatest athletes to come out of Hampton Roads.
With Grassfield high, he finished with 17 state titles — including seven as a senior — and two national records (55- and 60-meter hurdles). He also was dynamic on the football field — accounting for 16 touchdowns by receiving, rushing, interception and kick returns. He was a two-time recipient of The Virginian-Pilot Male Athlete of the Year award.
He turned down numerous football scholarships to run track.
With the University of Florida, Holloway won eight NCAA titles, broke a 40-year-old record in the 110 hurdles and became the first man in collegiate history to win three straight indoor and outdoor high hurdles titles. He helped the Gators win three NCAA titles and finish second three times.
Holloway’s dominance continued when he turned pro and signed with Adidas. He owns the second-fastest time in 110 hurdles history at 12.81 seconds and is the world-record holder in the 60 meters at 7.27 seconds.
The last time Holloway lost an indoor hurdles race was March 2014, when he was 16 years old .
But for all his accomplishments, after winning silver in Tokyo, Holloway is motivated to add a gold medal to his résume.
He started fast and led for much of the gold-medal race in the 2021 Games, but couldn’t hold off fast-charging Hansle Parchment of Jamaica.
“I got a little bit excited towards the end of the race and my form kind of broke down,” Holloway told reporters.
Holloway has not forgotten, and while he’s the favorite in Paris, he won’t allow himself to think about the gold medal. The first round of the 110 hurdles is Aug. 4, followed by the semifinals Aug. 7 and the final Aug. 8.
“Right now, the main thing was just the preparation phase. So, my main thing is, I gotta take care of two rounds. And then on top of that, I gotta make the finals, and I gotta get to that finish line before everybody else,” he said. “I don’t know what it means to be an Olympic champion. I know what it feels like to be a silver medalist.
“I can talk about that every day. But Olympic gold is going be a tough one. But I think when that moment comes, I don’t think I’m going to let it slip through my hands this time.”
The Olympics also are a chance to get to know Holloway better. With his infectious smile and charisma, he could win over many fans.
Nieter noticed that about Holloway in middle school.
“When Grant came along, you could just see him walk around the hallway and see there was just something about him,” Nieter said. “There was a bounce in his step, and his personality was just magnetic. Everybody wanted to be around him.”
Holloway will be part of Xfinity’s “We all Win” campaign in Paris. Xfinity and Team Comcast will follow him during the Olympics to give fans an up-close and personal look at him.
“They’re catching not only my moments on the track, but even off the track,” Holloway said. “They’re going to find me on the field warm-up area. They’re even strapping heart-rate monitors to not only myself, but to my father, and they’re watching his heart spike when the gun goes off, in the middle of the race and through the race.
“They’re just doing so much to capture not only my story, but the stories around me. For them to choose me, that means they have faith in me.”
As Holloway prepared recently for his second Olympics, he credited his upbringing in Hampton Roads and parents Stan and Latasha. He said the 757 helped shape him as an athlete, while his parents molded him into a man.
“I tell everybody that when you come from an area that is so close-knitted and has great athletes that go off to college each and every year, that just speaks volume of our area,” he said. “We’re not California, we’re not Texas, but we’re a respectful state that every blue moon can have somebody be on the top.
“You know, when I came up, I was watching LaShawn Merritt and Michael Cherry,” he added, referring to two other track legends from Hampton Roads. “It was just one of the things where I was like, ‘They’re doing what I want to do.’ So I want to follow in their footsteps, but I want to write my own story at the same time. Just to come from the 757 and Grassfield means a lot.”
Holloway said his parents keep him grounded as grand possibilities — a gold medal and stardom — loom.
“They’re part of the reasons why I am where I am now,” he said. “I’ve always leaned on both of them, not only physically, but more so on the emotional and mental standpoint. I could be the best person in the world, or I could be the worst person in the world, I know those two people will always be my number one fan. Once it’s all said and done, I know they’ll still appreciate me, regardless of the outcome.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
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