Freddie Crittenden's strategic slowdown: A gamble for olympic redemption
Freddie Crittenden, from the USA, completed the 110-metre hurdle at an exceptionally slow pace during the Olympic Games in Paris. He finished in last place, and—as he later explained in interviews—he did it intentionally.
In Sunday's competition, the 29-year-old completed the 110-metre hurdle distance in 18.27 seconds. He was 5 seconds behind the winner. However, Crittenden didn't seem to care.
On Saturday, I had an easy workout before the competition, but during the last repetition, I slightly tore my adductor muscle, so the doctors ordered some tests - the sprinter said.
Despite the unhurried pace, he was not eliminated from the games.
The performance did not guarantee him a place in the semifinals, but the American will be able to participate in the repechage rounds.
Olympian "hastened slowly". Now he will have a second chance
In 2022, the World Athletics organization introduced so-called repechages. In practice, they provide a second chance for those athletes who did not qualify in the eliminations for the next round.
Crittenden admitted that he ran slowly on purpose.
It was intentional. Everyone gets into the repechages, so I made a smart choice. I gave my body time to recover after it got worse. I relied on what the doctors said and on God. Now I'm just waiting for the repechage round, and I plan to 'rock it' in the repechage round - he said in an interview with NBC.
At the games, only the top three competitors in each category could advance to the semifinal of the 110-metre hurdle race. If Crittenden had tried to qualify this way, he could have worsened his injury.
The repechage races are scheduled for Thursday at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, giving Crittenden three days to recover. Will this move pay off?
