Chesapeake Olympians Michael Cherry and Grant Holloway will compete in World Track & Field Championships on U.S. soil for first time
Last summer, Chesapeake’s Michael Cherry and Grant Holloway brought home hardware from the Tokyo Olympics.
Cherry, an Oscar Smith grad, won gold as part of the 4x400 relay.
Holloway, a Grassfield grad, won silver in the 110 hurdles.
Both will try to add to their trophy case when they compete in the 2022 World Track & Field Championships that begin this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The United States is hosting the outdoor championships for the first time.
Cherry can’t wait.
He just missed getting a bronze medal in the 400 meters at the Olympics. He ran a personal-best time of 44.21 seconds, but finished two-hundredths of a second behind Grenada’s Kirani James.
“After competing in the Olympics, I am super confident coming into world championships, especially because it is on U.S. soil,” said Cherry, who begins his quest for gold on Sunday in the 400-meter preliminary heats. " I can have all the things I am used to having at home, and I’ve been running on this track for so long it feels like home.”
Cherry, who lives in Los Angeles, said not having to travel far also is nice.
“It feels great to stay in my time zone and not have to adjust,” he said. “Living in LA, it’s just an hour-and-30 minute plane ride to Eugene, so super easy. Now other countries get to come over and see how we feel when we travel for every championship.”
The 400 semifinals are July 20 and the finals are July 22. Cherry also will compete on the 4x400 relay.
“I’m super excited to compete because I started out the season super strong with my fastest opener, then ran into a little bump with a injury, which didn’t give me the chance to run at the trials,” he said. “Me and my coach have been working really hard to get back to 100%, so that we can get on the podium here in Eugene.”
Holloway is the defending world champion in the 110 hurdles as he won gold at the 2019 World Track & Field Championships in Doha, Qatar.
He also was the favorite to win the 110 hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics. He had the early lead but couldn’t hold off Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment, who ran a season-best 13.04 seconds. Holloway, who ran 13.09, outleaned Jamaica’s Ronald Levy to take second.
Holloway, who is the second fastest man in the 110 hurdles in history at 12.81 seconds, begins his quest to repeat as world champion on Saturday when he competes in the preliminary heats of the 110 hurdles. The semifinals and finals are Sunday.
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com. Twitter @LHRubama.
