He has way more on the line than the others at this meet. The wind was pretty strong so there's a chance it could mess up your stride length and increase the probability of hitting a hurdle in a bad way.
He has way more on the line than the others at this meet. The wind was pretty strong so there's a chance it could mess up your stride length and increase the probability of hitting a hurdle in a bad way.
why would a potential world champion run a race into a 20+ mph wind ?
to shred his hamstrings and hit every hurdle?
The Olympic champion managed to run, and run 12.67. So some elites managed to run well.
I was disappointed with Holloway. I really like the guy, he's a star and some people will have tuned in just to watch him and he's let them down. I don't think this was a safety issue, I just think he didn't want to run because the wind adds greater unpredictability to sprint races and he was worried about a really bad result.
More importantly, this is why T&F is dying. Stars who decide not to race in poor conditions is really low rent. Imagine any football player telling the coach they were refusing to play a regular seasons game because it was raining.
This has little to nothing to do with track's supposed death. (A supposed death of which I am waiting to see your stats regarding.)
I will take the top comment from when this same post was made 8 years ago.
It's not dead, nor dying, it is suffering from something else.
The sport is more accessible than ever; YouTube and SM has been huge for it. It's just not a great sport to watch, and the rise of global tv coincided w/ more spectator friendly sports, and that will continue to be the case.
The sport is more accessible than ever; YouTube and SM has been huge for it. It's just not a great sport to watch, and the rise of global tv coincided w/ more spectator friendly sports, and that will continue to be the case.
YouTube and social media have been huge for every sport. That’s the problem . Each sport can be accessible in its silo.
why would a potential world champion run a race into a 20+ mph wind ?
to shred his hamstrings and hit every hurdle?
The Olympic champion managed to run, and run 12.67. So some elites managed to run well.
I was disappointed with Holloway. I really like the guy, he's a star and some people will have tuned in just to watch him and he's let them down. I don't think this was a safety issue, I just think he didn't want to run because the wind adds greater unpredictability to sprint races and he was worried about a really bad result.
More importantly, this is why T&F is dying. Stars who decide not to race in poor conditions is really low rent. Imagine any football player telling the coach they were refusing to play a regular seasons game because it was raining.
Smart decision for an athlete looking at breaking a world record later this year.
A season is long. Running the hurdles is not like running a flat race. You are running full speed into 42in high barriers, and your stride pattern is everything. Its muscle memory. If you look at championship races and see someone going blazing fast and then going down, its not for lack of composure. Its because adrenaline has kicked in and the pattern is thrown off in a way that the athlete has not trained for.
This is not like running ducking a 5k because its a bit hot out. This was an incredibly strong wind, and if you hit a hurdle the wrong way, your season could possibly be over.
This is a world championship year. He's a professional athlete and needs to think like a professional. Why some of you think an athlete needs to run every mickey-mouse meet that he or she is entered in, I'm not sure. That's stupid. Holloway already has equaled his own indoor record this year and gets after it regularly at big time meets all season long.
Smart decision for an athlete looking at breaking a world record later this year.
A season is long. Running the hurdles is not like running a flat race. You are running full speed into 42in high barriers, and your stride pattern is everything. Its muscle memory. If you look at championship races and see someone going blazing fast and then going down, its not for lack of composure. Its because adrenaline has kicked in and the pattern is thrown off in a way that the athlete has not trained for.
This is not like running ducking a 5k because its a bit hot out. This was an incredibly strong wind, and if you hit a hurdle the wrong way, your season could possibly be over.
This is a world championship year. He's a professional athlete and needs to think like a professional. Why some of you think an athlete needs to run every mickey-mouse meet that he or she is entered in, I'm not sure. That's stupid. Holloway already has equaled his own indoor record this year and gets after it regularly at big time meets all season long.
Agreed 100%. Would you rather see world record attempts later in the year, or watch Grant run a crappy time in a horribly organized and completely meaningless meet?
The only way for him to run this race is to significantly change his stride pattern, but as Grant said he's trying to build consistency and this change would hurt his consistency. Running over 42 inch hurdles in 25 mph headwinds significantly increases risk of injury.
Grant wanted to run, he asked if they can change the direction and run with a tailwind. The meet organizers said no. Blame the meet organizers, not Grant.
Bush league. Too windy for a world champion, c’mon, that’s pretty pathetic. True hurdles greats like Skeets Nehemiah must have gotten a big laugh out of that. I hope he returned his appearance fee. Too bad Ato didnt have the guts to call him out on TV.
If track athletes want the sport to be more popular they need to be like the NBA. In the Association the star players play all 82 games like it’s their last.
What’s he going to do at a major meet if it’s windy?
Huge fan but come on man.
Just reading about this I thought.......what a wimp. Then once I saw the meet and that wind, I don't blame the guy, this did go beyond just windy as we all saw.
Smart man who did the right thing being who he is in the event.
If track athletes want the sport to be more popular they need to be like the NBA. In the Association the star players play all 82 games like it’s their last.
Aren't NBA games played in an enclosed environment thus no weather impacts? Why you think this is a comparable analogy is beyond me.
He has way more on the line than the others at this meet. The wind was pretty strong so there's a chance it could mess up your stride length and increase the probability of hitting a hurdle in a bad way.
Isn't that what makes it a sport and not an exhibition?
A true competitor needs to be prepared to compete in all conditions under which a competition is held.
What if the Miami Dolphins refused to play the Packers at snowy Lambeau Field because a player might slip and pull a hammy?
In my experience a strong tailwind is MUCH more dangerous than a strong headwind in the hurdles. But all athletes are different, I have no idea how it affects him personally.
btw I think he is maybe THE single most naturally talented t&f athlete in the US at the moment. I think he’s an all-time great, and I can’t wait until he wipes Demerritt’s name from the books.
You people are morons. Running hurdles in the wind can be dangerous because the runner can be blown closer to the hurdle and hit it in weird and unexpected ways. Haven't you ever seen how hurdlers practice their steps before and between hurdles? The wind makes them very hard to standardize. He is avoiding injuries which is very smart considering it is a WC year here in the USA.