Looking back at 2024, is there something on the track that stands out and resonates with you the most?

The biggest thing that sticks out to me is running a sub-13 for the first time. It was weird because, looking back at that race, technically it was probably one of my worst. But at that moment, with the pressure being on, I feel like every single time in my career in those types of situations, I’ve been able to do what I needed to do to get on that team. That was another one of those moments. No matter that it wasn’t one of the cleanest races, running sub-13 for the first time was a big thing that kind of opened my mind to that if I just stop playing around and get over these hurdles, I’ll be straight.

It was 2019 when you were still in NCAA and you ran 13.00, and every year I was like, “He’s got this, he’s right there.” To finally see you do it this year was a moment.

It was a moment of relief. I did it so early, coming out of your rookie season and running 13-flat. Finally getting under was really cool five years down the road. Hopefully, many more to come. I’m fit, I’m strong, I’m fast, just gotta clean some things up and trust Coach [Allen] Johnson. He’s one of the greatest to ever do it, so everything he tells me I’m trying to do that.

Why is that indoors important to you as an athlete now?

One of my strengths is my start, so indoors is an easy way to make sure I’m staying sharp with that. It’s only five hurdles, it’s quick, and if you don’t get out and get going, especially racing someone like Grant [Holloway] whose PB is the world record, you’ve just got to make sure you’re ready every single time you race. I love doing indoors because it gets me sharp early and it gets me good, easy race reps. Here in North Carolina, we don’t really have an indoor track so a lot of our training is outside, so I’d rather go to a meet and train in a race setting. Usually they have rounds but even if they don’t, getting one solid race rep in, to me, is about the equivalent of doing a whole practice if you do it right.

As we look forward to 2025, where you’ll get a chance to be at the Millrose Games again in the 60m hurdles. What is it about the Millrose Games that attracts you?

Just the simple fact that it’s New York City, man, I love going there. I usually make a trip out of it – my wife and I will go up and we’ll see a Broadway show or something. On top of that, just that there’s history in that meet, even when it was at Madison Square Garden before. Millrose has always been that meet for U.S. track and field, and it’s cool to be a part of. It’s a meet that you may not get as much prize money, but that historical element that it brings is definitely something that I don’t want to pass up on.

Now that you’ve been a pro for a couple of years, was there a moment that you had the realization that you were really a professional, that this is what you do for work?

It was probably early on when I signed that first contract, that probably was the biggest feeling. I’m not someone that came from money; I’m not someone that was ever in something close to that world of contracts and sponsorships, so having that and knowing what I viewed as a child as a professional athlete, it was a cool feeling to experience that. Signing the contract, getting the boxes of Nike clothes coming to my front door – that whole experience was really cool and something I’ll never forget.

So obviously you have Millrose on the calendar, but you also have Grand Slam Track coming up with the four Slams going into 2025. Do you feel a sense of ease knowing you have those meets on your calendar as you prepare for the World Championship year?

For sure. Grand Slam Track has so much to offer us. One reason I really wanted to be a part of it was how much it benefits the athletes and not just the sport. Obviously you want the sport to grow, but you also don’t want to have to suffer while the sport is growing. You want something that can give back to us and compensate us for the amount of work that we’re putting in to do what we do, to be the best in the world. It’s really cool to have that in general, but then I also know I’m going to have three meets in the U.S. so it’s easy for me to get family or friends to actually come see me race. It’s cool in a lot of ways. There’s a lot they’re offering us as athletes that I really appreciate, but also, for the sport, it’s going to be a lot better when people realize the competition and the structure of it. It’s consistent, you know where it’s gonna be already, the tickets are on sale already, it’s all set up to where it can grow and be as big as it wants to be. For any track fan, that’s amazing.

At the four Slams, you’ll have the 110mH and the 100m. How do you approach that now? I don’t think you’ve run a 100m in a while now.

It’s been a couple years and my last one was not too hot at all. I just approach it as training, really. We do plenty of really fast, pretty much 100%, if not 95%, sprints in practice. Whether it’s 120m, 150m, or even longer than that, it’s not that it’s anything that’s foreign. We’re still sprinters at the end of the day. It’s just going to be interesting trying to navigate that in a competition setting against people, and also having to bounce back a couple days later and race again. It’ll be something new, but I don’t think it’s anything that’s foreign.

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