Team USA’s Freddie Crittenden explains why finishing last in 110m hurdles race was the ‘best choice’

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE: Team USA's Freddie Crittenden created a buzz on social media after intentionally coming last in the preliminary men's 110-meter hurdles round on Sunday, August 4.

The 30-year-old athlete took a time of 18.27 seconds to finish the race, which was just a few seconds more than heat winner Louis François Mendy, who is a Senegalese hurdler, as reported by USA Today.

Why did Freddie Crittenden choose to come last?

Freddie Crittenden, who is the second-fastest 110m hurdler in the world, reportedly had a minor physical issue on Saturday, August 3. Though it was not an actual injury, it may result in injury.

So to protect himself from any future health concerns, he decided to finish last on Sunday and prepare himself for the repechage round that will happen on Tuesday, August 6.

As per reports, repechage is the French word for a second chance, and in the Olympics, it means athletes can get an extra round to prove themselves before competing in their event’s semifinals.

Freddie Crittenden didn't want to make his physical issue ‘worse’

Freddie Crittenden told USA Today, “I had a little aggravation in my abductor yesterday for my pre-meet. I went to Team USA medical staff, medical doctors, and they said it's not an injury, but there's a lack of activation in my muscle that's causing pain and discomfort.”

He mentioned, “So the plan was to come here, get through the round, and as long as I didn't get disqualified or hit any hurdles, the idea was that I could get through and get another opportunity in the repechage round."

“So I just wanted to get here, make sure I didn't make anything worse, and give it everything I've got on Tuesday.”

Revealing further, Crittenden shared, “My first thought was, ‘Am I going to be ready? Am I going to discredit all the athletes that wanted this spot and didn't have it?’”

“Then after that, it was, ‘What can I do to explore all my options?',” he noted, before stating, “In a couple of days I think it'll be better and I'll be able to leave it all on the track on Tuesday. It was definitely a strange feeling, especially walking out of that tunnel and seeing the beauty of the Paris Olympic Games.”

“This is my first Olympic team. I definitely was a little close to just going for it, but with that came the risk of really injuring myself and putting myself at risk to not even make it to the repechage round. So I really had to make the best choice,” Crittenden added.

Internet reacts to Freddie Crittenden's strategy

Meanwhile, people on the internet have shared their opinions about Freddie Crittenden’s decision to finish last and not risk himself.

A user shared, “Genius level move. Good for him.”

“Freddie Crittenden is the reason that repechage shouldn’t exist. Using his heat as a warm-up. Ridiculous #OlympicGames,” another commented.

One individual stated, “Freddie Crittenden had me SHOOOOK.”

Another remarked, “USA hurdler Freddie Crittenden exposing a big loophole in the new repechage round 😬or maybe, that’s what it's there for 🤔 #Olympics.”

“This is dumb: For the first time in Olympic history, the track portion of the Games will include a “repechage round” — loosely translated from French to mean “second chance” — for sprinters and hurdlers. We don’t even race normal anymore. Why are there special rules and caveats now? What happened to competing and being better than someone else? I’m not good enough to beat you today, but perhaps I will be tomorrow? That isn’t competition. You no longer have to do the actual winning part to get a shot at winning. So while all the other athletes are risking it and spending energy, he’s coasting and gets a “second chance” This is dumb,” a person wrote.

Another person added, “More like IQ 20. Now he has to run 4 rounds to make the final, while everyone else has to only run 3 rounds. He must have thought rep round is a bypass into the FINAL. Whereas it's a second chance at the SEMI.”

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.