UF Track & Field: Holloway Clinches Olympics Berth

Courtesy of University Athletic Association
BY RICK HURTADO
Grant Holloway qualified to his first Olympic team after logging the fastest time in the world this year and breaking the U.S. Olympic Trials record
Reigning world champion and Gators Great Grant Holloway secured his spot on Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics Saturday inside Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Holloway set the tone early in the evening during the 110-meter hurdles semifinals with a time of 12.81 [+1.8] seconds–1/100th of a second away from tying the world record. That time, however, is the fastest in the world this year and a new U.S. Olympic Trials record.
The 2019 The Bowerman winner made it official in the finals with a time of 12.96 [+0.4] seconds, winning the event and punching his ticket to Tokyo. This is Holloway’s first Olympic team.
Gators Great Avione Allgood-Whetstone finished third in the javelin with a mark of 58.94 meters (193 feet, 4 inches). Although Allgood-Whetstone placed among the top three finishers, she does not have the Olympic standard. Her qualification to the Olympics will be based on world rankings.
Freshman Claire Bryant closed an astounding freshman campaign with a 12th-place finish in the long jump. The 2021 SEC Women’s Freshman Field Athlete of the Year logged a mark of 6.34 meters (20 feet, 9.75 inches).
The games were slated to take place last year but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tokyo Games are scheduled to open on July 23.