Until this point, 2025 hadn’t gone how Grant Holloway would’ve hoped. He opened his year strong, claiming yet another world indoor title in the 60m hurdles, but once the outdoor season started, cracks began to show. The Olympic champion had already lost in Paris, faded in Gainesville, and hadn’t found himself on top of a podium all summer. So when he lined up at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic, it felt like a reset button was about to be hit. The conditions were perfect, the competition sharp but familiar, and Holloway was ready to finally break through. But just when it looked like things might finally go his way, an unexpected twist brought his nightmare season right back to life.
What unfolded in Ostrava on 23rd June was nothing short of dramatic. As Grant Holloway powered through the final stretch of the 110m hurdles, it seemed like he had the win locked. But out of nowhere came Dylan Beard, a name some still associate with a deli counter rather than a starting block. Matching Holloway stride for stride in the closing meters, Beard lunged at the line with timing.
Both athletes were clocked at 13.13 seconds, with a legal wind reading of +0.6, but the photo finish told the truth. Beard had edged him out by the slimmest of margins. Talking about the loss, Holloway said, “This is not the way I execute the race; the time is all right.”
Dylan Beard caught Grant Holloway just at the finish and beat him to win the men’s 110mH at the Ostrava Golden Spike!
They both crossed the line in 13.13s (+0.6). pic.twitter.com/rNNjuIETcM
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) June 24, 2025
Behind them, Austria’s Enzo Diessl placed third in 13.25 seconds, followed closely by American Eric Edwards, who posted a season-best 13.26. Qatar’s Oumar Douadi Abakar finished in 13.47, while home crowd hopefuls Jonas Kolomaznik and Stepan Stefko both registered personal bests of 13.71 and 13.87, respectively. France’s Erwann Cinna was disqualified. The surprise, though, wasn’t just the result; it was the man behind it. Beard’s journey reads like fiction: once working retail at Walmart, he’s now beating world champions on international stages. This season alone, he’s picked up wins in Turku, Zagreb, and Kingston.
For Grant Holloway, the loss deepens a growing concern. He’s still fast, still technically shar,p but the margins are getting thinner, and the challengers are getting bolder. Meanwhile, Dylan’s name has been all over the news since May, while Holloway has been under pressure since his loss a few days ago.
Grant Holloway’s dominance tested by the unstoppable rise of Dylan Beard
Dylan Beard isn’t your typical professional hurdler. At 26, he’s a former Howard University standout, a two-time Millrose Games champion, and until recently was working shifts at Walmart’s deli counter to keep his Olympic dream alive. His path to the professional track didn’t begin with shoe deals or viral hype. It started with a suitcase, a coach in North Carolina, and a quiet lifeline from his Aunt Angel, who let him crash in her Wake Forest home when he had nowhere else to go. Since then, Beard’s rise has been relentless and unconventional.
After finishing his college career at Howard in 2023, he began training under Olympic medalist David Oliver, often commuting hours just to reach practice. He raced in snowstorms, paid for his own travel, and trained through exhaustion, all while holding down part-time jobs. But 2025 changed everything. He won $50,000 at the Grand Slam meet in Kingston. His personal best of 13.10s currently ranks him 29th all-time in the U.S. His goal? A sub-13 performance and a U.S. team spot earned the hard way. Meanwhile, Grant Holloway, the man Beard just edged out in Ostrava, is navigating a rare stretch of inconsistency. Though his indoor season was flawless, winning his third straight world indoor 60m hurdles title in Nanjing (7.42s), extending a 94-race win streak, his outdoor campaign has told a different story.
He placed second at the Tom Jones Invitational (13.18s), struggled with a knee issue in Xiamen (13.72s, 10th place), and faded late in both Paris Diamond League races, finishing fifth with 13.11s in each. Once the undisputed leader of the 110m hurdles, Grant Holloway now finds himself pushed by hungry challengers like Beard, who isn’t just here to compete. He’s here to win.
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