What happened to Freddie Crittenden? Everything you need to know about America's top hurdler who intentionally failed in the Men's 110m Hurdles heats

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 04, 2024 13:05 GMT

2019 Pan American silver medalist, Freddie Crittenden recently finished eighth during the heats of the Men's 110m Hurdles at the Paris Olympics 2024. The Missouri native registered a time of 18.27 seconds during the second heat of the competition.

This comes after a very unusual performance from the World No. 4 during the first round of the event, in which he was seen jogging over the block. Crittenden later on clarified that it was an intentional move that he opted for due to the lack of muscle activation.

Owing to this, he didn't put extra effort into his performance on Sunday (August 4) and will look to make a comeback in the repechage round of the Men's 110m Hurdles event scheduled to be held on August 6 (Tuesday).

In a recent conversation following the conclusion of the heats, Crittenden revealed that his major intention after his aggravation was to just make it to the finishing line and avoid disqualification to have another shot at the semifinal spot in the repechage round. He said (via NBC Sports):

"I'm doing well. I had a little bit of aggravation in my adductor yesterday from my pre-meet. I went to the Team USA medical staff and doctors. They said it's not an injury. There's just a lack of activation in my muscle and that's causing pain and discomfort."

He further said:

"The plan was to come out here and get through the round as long as I didn't get disqualified or hit any hurdles. The idea was to get through and I'll have another opportunity to run in the repechage round."

In the repechage round of the event, Crittenden will run in the first heat of the event alongside opponents such as Finland's Elmo Lakka and Spain's Asier Martinez (110m Hurdles).

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Freddie Crittenden registered personal best run time during the US Olympic Track and Field trials

Freddie Crittenden at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest (Image via Getty Images)

Running in the Men's 110m Hurdles finals of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials, Freddie Crittenden produced a solid performance to book a berth for the first Olympics of his career. The 30-year-old registered a personal best run time of 12.93 seconds to finish second in the finals.

Freddie Crittenden was only led by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist in the event, Grant Halloway who touched the finishing line in just 12.86 seconds.

Besides his performances at the trials, the 30-year-old also has produced superb performances at the Prefontaine Classic held in May where he clinched a third-place finish with a run time of 13.16 seconds.