While Thoughts Drift To Paris, Grant Holloway Focused On 'Here And Now'

By David Woods for DyeStat

Kim Spir PHOTOS

GLASGOW, Scotland – As decorated and gifted as Femke Bol is, she is not a Marvel creation.

Thus, she will not attempt to match the four 1948 gold medals by fellow Dutchwoman Fanny Blankers-Koen. To do so at the Paris Olympics, Bol would have to race 400 meters for nine days in a row from Aug. 2-10 against the best in the world.

“No, it’s not in my plan to do all of this,” she said Thursday at a news conference for the World Indoor Championships. “It’s a lot. So no.”

In Glasgow, she has heats and semifinals of the 400 meters Friday, the final Saturday, and 4x400 relay Sunday.

A rivalry between two 24-year-olds, Bol and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, would be among the best in any sport if they raced each other more often. McLaughlin-Levrone took gold and Bol bronze in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and they were 1-2 at Oregon’s 2022 World Championships.

Since then, Bol has run 37 races and the American 16, according to World Athletics. McLaughlin-Levrone pulled out of the 2023 Worlds at Budapest, Hungary, announcing she had a “minor knee issue.” She has not raced since winning the national title in the 400 in 48.74 last July 8, or nearly eight months ago.

Bol is coming off a world indoor record in the 400 of 49.24, set Feb. 18 at Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

“Every year, you work on something else,” she said. “This year we tried to work on the speed a bit. I can see from indoors, this is working. I’m starting to miss my hurdles a bit because I’m not doing them indoors too much.”

Bol asserted the 400 hurdles is, and always has been, her favorite event. She won gold medals in the 400 hurdles and 4x400 relay at Budapest and might have won a third if she had not fallen at the end of the mixed 4x400 relay.

It is worth noting only McLaughlin-Levrone’s hurdles world records of 50.68 and 51.41 are faster than the 51.45 Bol ran at London last July.

“My relationship with Sydney is good,” Bol said. “I love competing against her, so I hope to see her in the hurdles this year.”

The Dutchwoman has seven global medals, including two silvers from 2022 indoor Worlds at Belgrade.

Kerr on Ingebrigtsen: ‘No comment’

British milers Josh Kerr and Sebastian Coe replied to the most contentious issues of the news conference.

Kerr, a Scot racing the 3,000 meters Saturday on native soil, was asked about Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s comment that he could have beaten Kerr “blindfolded” at the 116th Millrose Games. Kerr, who set a world indoor record of 8:00.67 in the 2-mile at New York on Feb. 11, beat the Norwegian in the 1,500 meters to win gold at Budapest.

After pausing, Kerr smiled and said:

“No comment.”

Coe, president of World Athletics, was asked about the proposed Enhanced Games in which athletes could use substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

“Well, it’s bollocks, isn’t it?” Coe said.

Anyone in track and field participating would be banned, and “banned for a long time,” he said.

Holloway says ‘live for the moment’

Although conversation drifted toward Paris, hurdler Grant Holloway said it is necessary to live in the moment: indoor Worlds.

“We have to stay focused on the task at hand,” he said. “I think sometimes we, as individuals, lose sight of what we have in front of us and start thinking about the future instead of looking at the present.”

Holloway, who has won 60 consecutive senior races in the 60-meter hurdles is coming off a Feb. 16 competition in which he lowered the world record to 7.27 seconds.

Kerr acknowledged everything about this year is Paris preparation, and that turned out to include Glasgow, too. He discussed the buildup with his coach, Danny Mackey of Brooks Beasts.

“For me, it always takes a little bit more time to build up into these events,” he said. “The short track sometimes isn’t the most beneficial on my knees and hips and everything. So just making sure the body wasn’t fighting the training, you know.

“I didn’t want to give up the opportunity to go out and try to win another Olympic medal because I was forcing my hand to be here at home championships, was his point of view. For me, I obviously wanted to be here, so I had to be every regimented in everything I did to show I was in a great position.”

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007