Grant Holloway has become the first hurdler to win three consecutive World Indoor Championships, extending a 70-plus-race win streak in the 60m hurdles that dates back more than a decade.
Holloway, the Paris Olympic 110m hurdles champion, won Saturday’s final in 7.42 seconds in Nanjing, China. France’s Wilhem Belocian took a distant silver in 7.54.
Holloway holds the four fastest indoor 60m hurdles times in history — 7.27, 7.29, 7.29 and 7.29.
His last defeat in the event came as a high school sophomore in March 2014.
WORLD INDOORS: Full Results | Broadcast Schedule
Next up for Holloway is the outdoor season. He has a bye into September’s World Championships as a defending champion. He can become the first hurdler to win four consecutive World Outdoor titles.
He’s also the second-fastest man in history in the 110m hurdles with a personal best of 10.81 seconds, which is one hundredth off American Aries Merritt’s world record from 2012.
“Every time I step on the race, I’m thinking about running 12.7, to be the first athlete that’s ever done that,” he told NBC Sports’ Ato Boldon before World Indoors.
In other events Saturday, Chris Bailey led a U.S. sweep of the men’s 400m medals. Bailey, an Olympic 4x400m gold medalist, clocked 45.08 for his first individual global medal. He was followed by Brian Faust (45.47) and Jacory Patterson (45.54).
Bailey became the first American to win the men’s 400m since Tyree Washington in 2003.
Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the men’s 3000m. He is now the second man to earn gold medals at the Olympics, World Outdoor Championships and World Indoor Championships while doing so over the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m. The other is mile world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco.
Ethiopian Freweyni Hailu won the women’s 3000m, one year after taking the 1500m indoor title. American Shelby Houlihan overtook Olympic 1500m silver medalist Jessica Hull of Australia for silver by two hundredths of a second.
Houlihan, a 2016 Olympian, is returning this year from a four-year ban after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone in December 2020.
In the women’s 400m, Brit Amber Anning overtook American Alexis Holmes — 50.60 to 50.63 — in the final strides as Holmes fell through the finish line.
Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.15 meters for a third consecutive World Indoor pole vault title and a seventh consecutive global title overall including the Olympics and World Outdoor Championships.
Duplantis, the world record holder at 6.27 meters, was tested like never before. Olympic bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece cleared 6.05 meters, the highest clearance by any foe in any competition with Duplantis.
World Indoors continue later Saturday at 10:05 p.m. ET with the last morning session in Nanjing. The last session of finals is Sunday at 7:35 a.m. ET. All sessions air live on Peacock.
NBC and CNBC air highlights on Saturday (11:30 a.m. ET, CNBC) and Sunday (12 p.m., NBC, and 3:30 p.m., CNBC).
