A gold for America’s most demonstrative high hurdler, a stunning exit for Michael Norman, and a silver medal for an unsponsored sprinter were the top stories on day six in Doha.

Here are the grades:

Grant Holloway: A+

When Grant Holloway finished sixth in Paris on Aug. 24, the narrative around his 2019 season appeared set. Transcendent throughout the NCAA indoor and outdoor campaigns -- with American and collegiate records along the way -- Holloway was worn down in the late summer.

“I just sucked. I just ran like shit,” he joked on Wednesday.

After running a 12.98 110m hurdles world lead in the NCAA final on June 7, the 21-year-old eclipsed 13.2 just once in the five races in between then and Doha. When he lost to Daniel Roberts at USAs and then produced a dud in Paris, a world title was further away for Holloway than it had been all year.

“I opened up at Budapest, and after that it was just bad meet after bad meet after bad meet. Practices weren’t going well,” he said.

But Holloway recaptured the magic of his collegiate season in Doha, a turnaround he credited to his inner circle of family and friends. On Wednesday night at Khalifa International Stadium, he ran wire-to-wire to win the 110m hurdles world title in 13.10.

In his first #WorldAthleticsChamps outing, ?? @Flaamingoo_ wins 110m hurdles ? in 13.10. pic.twitter.com/pwtIoEVyGG

— IAAF (@iaaforg) October 2, 2019

“I continue to have fun," he said. "I continue to stay true to myself and most importantly I always pick my friends wisely.” 

Those family and friends -- including his mom and dad, who were on hand in Doha -- helped Holloway regain focus when the results weren’t going his way. 

He needed that focus as a melee of hit hurdles unfolded between the men to his inside in lanes four and five. Jamaica’s Omar McLeod lost his balance and collided with Orlando Ortega of Spain, sending McLeod crashing down the track and taking the Spaniard out of medal contention. Holloway saw none of it.

“Not at all,” he said.

Brittany Brown: A+

The 200m world silver medalist Brittany Brown has the type of Cinderella story that usually ends well before a global championship podium: unsponsored, working multiple jobs, never finished better than fifth at NCAAs, Brown ran a 22.22 personal best to score a result that was wildly improbable entering 2019.

But as flocks of medalists dropped out of the 200m at these championships, and after Brown ran 22.33 in the first round, it was clear the podium was imminent. She was no match for world champion Dina Asher-Smith, who broke her national record with a 21.88 for gold on Wednesday, but the 24-year-old Iowa grad polished off a dream season with her best race of the year in Doha.

With it, Brown -- who still trains with her college coach at the University of Iowa -- can surely wave goodbye to her unsponsored status. She's also due a break from the grind of training and employment.

“No work next week!” she exclaimed.

Karissa Schweizer: A

U.S. 5,000m runners Karissa Schweizer, Elinor Purrier, and Rachel Schneider each made their outdoor global championship debuts on Wednesday in Doha, with Schweizer and Purrier impressively advancing to Saturday’s final. For an event that is a weak spot for the Americans in 2019, putting two into the final exceeded expectations.

Schweizer, in particular, had a wonderful race, as she ran a nine-second personal best of 14:52.41 to finish second in the first heat. In doing so, the 23-year-old became the seventh-fastest American ever.

“I was honestly shocked. I looked at the time with 400m to go and I was like, oh gosh,” said Schweizer.

Despite the big mark, the U.S. runner-up was confident she saved something for Saturday’s final.

“You never know with rounds. I’ve never done two rounds like this, but I’m excited for the opportunity to race in the final,” she said.

Running in the same heat, Purrier had to sweat out qualifying after finishing ninth in 15:08.82. But it was nonetheless a strong run and just 0.21 seconds off her personal best. She earned the last spot to the final.

“I didn’t really know how it was going to go but I did expect I was going to have to run fast to make the final,” said Purrier.

The fastest qualifying time belonged to reigning world champion and 2019 world leader Hellen Obiri, who returned from a disappointing 10,000m fifth-place finish on Saturday to run 14:52.13. Her best competition in the final is likely to come from Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen, the 22-year-old who ran 14:26 in August.

Men’s 400m: D

Michael Norman was a stunning victim to the 400m semifinals on Wednesday as the 2019 world leader failed to qualify for the final with a seventh-place 45.94 finish. The 21-year-old wasn’t specific about what was ailing him, only conceding that a “warning sign” told him to slow down.

“I just had to listen to my body and make the executive choice, and I would hope to think the mature choice, to slow down instead of risking serious injury,” he said.

“It’s really disappointing to come here and train for 330 days to jog a semi. I can’t really get too down on myself. In the moment, a lot of emotions going through my head.”

Norman has been dealing with an unspecified lower-body injury for months, one that first popped up before the U.S. Championships in July. He still ran 43.79 in finishing runner-up in Des Moines, but the ailment has persisted since.

Norman was the big story, but an interesting final is still on tap for Friday even without him. U.S. champion Fred Kerley is now the favorite as the lone man in the final to break 44 seconds this season. 

An eclectic field of contenders will greet him in two days. Former Olympic and world champion Kirani James is back in a global final for the first time since 2016, while 800m runner Emmanuel Korir of Kenya -- who was eliminated in the 800m semis earlier in the meet -- will compete in his first final in a distance he doesn’t even train for. The 1:42.05 man ran 44.37 on Wednesday.

U.S. Women’s 1500m: A

In a 1500m first round that only eliminated 11 of the 35 competitors, it was no surprise to see all three Americans advance to Thursday’s semifinal. Shelby Houlihan, Jenny Simpson, and Nikki Hiltz earned automatic qualifiers, as did each of the big-name international athletes like Sifan Hassan, Faith Kipyegon, Laura Muir, and Gabriela Debues-Stafford.

Hassan and Simpson won their respective heats in 4:03.88 and 4:07.27. The two world champions -- Hassan just four days ago in the 10,000m, Simpson the 2011 1500 champ -- painted a very different picture after their races in the mixed zone. Hassan, who is coached by the now-banned Alberto Salazar, did not speak with media. The Dutchwoman released a statement on Wednesday noting that the allegations surrounding Salazar preceded her joining the club.

“I was aware of the ongoing investigations when I joined the team and have always had a clean conscience knowing we are being monitored to the absolute fullest by USADA and WADA,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, Simpson took the opportunity of Salazar’s ban to lay into the controversial coach.

“Get him out. That’s my reaction. If you cheat, if you get banned, I’m a believer in lifetime bans. I wish it was longer,” said Simpson.