‘King of the hill’: Olympic gold medalist, and the former collegiate record-holder, pens open letter congratulating Ja’Kobe Tharp
Holloway said: “There will always be a target on your back, but not the kind you’re thinking of. The target is the standard you’ve now set.”
All eyes have been on Ja’Kobe Tharp after his paradigm-shifting world record run at the NCAA Championships — including the eyes of the Olympic champion.
Reigning gold medalist Grant Holloway, also owner of the previous NCAA record which Tharp broke, penned an open letter to Tharp published Friday on Instagram.
Holloway ran hurdles at Florida from 2017 to 2019 and at that time set the previous NCAA record time of 12.98 seconds in 2019 in Austin, Texas. Tharp broke that record with his run of 12.75 in the preliminaries at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. — simultaneously breaking the world record.
“From a collegiate record to a world record is absolutely insane,” Holloway opened his writing. “I’m truly excited, honored and blessed to have been able to pour into you, even if it was only for a short amount of time. You soaked up every bit of knowledge like a sponge and turned it into something special.
“I still remember in 2024 when we had a brief conversation after a race we both competed in. You were a young phenom, hungry and ready to conquer the world. Fast forward to 2025 we exchanged a few words in the call room at the World Championships and now you’re sitting on top of the mountain as the king of the hill.”
Holloway closed his statement with some words of advice:
“There will always be a target on your back, but not the kind you’re thinking of,” Holloway wrote. “The target is the standard you’ve now set. The next generation will be chasing it, just like you chased those who came before you and it’s up to them to raise the bar even higher.
“Congratulations, champ. Enjoy the moment, you earned every bit of it.”
It’s a graceful passing of the torch — at least for now. Holloway will be among the top contenders for Team USA gunning for gold at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Holloway was ostensibly still the top dog in the event with Tharp being among the top contenders chasing him — until that record-breaking run in Eugene.
Holloway won gold in the 110-meter hurdles at the Paris Olympics in 2024. He won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, competed in 2021.
