CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR)- Grassfield High School's teams take the field, track or court proudly displaying their colors of red and blue. Thursday, the Grizzlies favorite color was gold.
Grassfield product Grant Holloway ran his way to the top of the podium, claiming his first Olympic gold medal with a win in the 110 meter high hurdles. Holloway got out to his usual fast start, opened up a noticeable lead and crossed the line first in a time of 12.99 seconds. He's the first American to win the event at the Olympics since 2012.
Fellow American Daniel Roberts claimed the silver in 13.09 seconds, with Jamaica's Rasheed Broadbell picking up the bronze medal, also in 13.09 seconds.
Watch: Chesapeake native to become youngest male to compete on US Olympic track team
Holloway now fills what might have been the only void in his trophy case. Hansle Parchment of Jamaica came from behind to stun the Chesapeake native during the 2021 Tokyo games, but Holloway has three outdoor World Championships to his name, along with two golds in the 60 meter hurdles at the indoor World Championships.
This year has seen him take his game to another level. He has the fastest time in the world this year, clocking 12.86 seconds. That's just 0.05 seconds off his personal best and 0.06 seconds away from the 110 meter high hurdles World Record. The 26-year old has broken the 13 second mark 11 times during his career, tied for the most all-time.
As Holloway was taking care of business a half-world away, Chesapeake was cheering him on. His high school track coach, Leroy Harper, is also an assistant on Grassfield's football staff. The Grizzlies gathered for a watch party at the school, with an emotional Harper watching from the center of the room.
Watch: Stan Holloway joins News 3 from trackside
"This is the one he's been waiting to get," Harper said after the race. "When you know first-hand the work he's been putting in, all the things, all the ups, all the downs, everything for this moment right here and to see it finally come through for him, man, it's exciting."
Harper called those 12.99 seconds the longest of his life, as he watched his former star claim Olympic gold. He credits Holloway for his ability to stay true to himself and his work ethic, regardless of the success. The head coach admitted he usually doesn't take part in watch parties when his athletes are running on a big stage, but thought it was important for the current high school student-athletes to see somebody who was in their shoes take his shot at the best in the world.
Through tears, Harper projected what his next encounter with Holloway might be like.
Watch: Grassfield track coach on Grant Holloway's success
"It won't even be words, just tears and hugs," he smiled. "It will be nice and quite for a long time, [not] much that we've got to say to each other. He knows how I feel, I know how he feels. It's just going to be hugs and smiles."
Just around the corner from Grassfield High School, the Dirty Buffalo was packed with supporters rooting on Holloway. Every table was filled as the race's start-time neared. Brent Nieter was Holloway's middle school coach and among the crowd.
"Just the arc that he's been on, the steady improvement that he's made, the growth that I've seen in him personally is incredible," Nieter said. "Grant is a great person and that's a testament to the number of people that are here to watch him today."
Holloway is the fourth product of Hampton Roads to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Norfolk's Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker was the first 757 representative to stand atop the podium, winning a boxing championship in 1984. LaShawn Merritt of Portsmouth won the Olympic 400 meter dash title in 2008 and Virginia Beach's Gabby Douglas was the all-around gymnastics champion in 2012.
