Racing at the Olympics demands athletes to sprint at their maximum speed, not pace themselves like in the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare.
However, Team USA hurdler Freddie Crittenden’s start left viewers at home in disbelief.
Participating in the Men’s 110m hurdles first round today (August 4), despite being ranked fourth in the world, Crittenden adopted a surprisingly slow and steady pace.
The 30-year-old’s Olympic debut in Paris turned out to be underwhelming as he almost jogged to the finish line, even though he needed to speed up to progress to the semi-finals.
To ideally advance, Crittenden needed to be among the top-three finishers with the fastest times.
Unfortunately, his relaxed pace resulted in a last-place finish in his heat.
Crittenden later clarified his approach.
After the race, he explained he was ‘slightly injured’ and wanted to conserve energy for another shot at qualifying for the semis on Tuesday (August 6).
Eurosport reported that Crittenden hopes to feel better and finish in the top six to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Reporters who spoke with Crittenden mentioned that he had an ‘aggravated muscle’ in his leg, which slowed him down.
Fans watching from home expressed their surprise on Twitter.
One person tweeted: “I am FLOORED. American 110m men’s hurdler, Freddie Crittenden came in dead last. It’s not funny but I’m laughing because I thought he ran as well as I’d have run (not true) but the world ranked #4 runner came in last in his heat. He’ll advance to the repechage.”
Another commented: “Trying to play it smart. After experiencing a twinge in warmups, @__respect_earnd makes [Crittenden] the choice to keep it locked down in the Olympic 110m hurdles prelims and test his luck in the repechage rounds.
“Crittenden finished last in his heat in 18.27.”
Another viewer questioned: “What happened there to Freddie Crittenden!?”
Someone else praised him for being ‘smart’.
They wrote: “Smart move. Why not take advantage of this new format. Doesn’t risk an injury and if he’s back to close to 100%, he should make it through no problem!”
Footage captured the moment when Crittenden started to fall behind right after the first hurdle, revealing his deliberate slow pace.
Despite the slow finish, Crittenden still has a chance to win a gold medal.
His time of 18.27 seconds will qualify him for the repechage rounds on Tuesday.