In an Olympic games of plenty of first for some, American Freddie Crittenden made one of his own by becoming the first athlete to make it through a repechage round.
Crittenden advanced to the 110m hurdles final on Wednesday in 13.23 after intentionally using the repechage to slowly make his way over the barriers and finishing last in qualifying. The repechage round gives athletes a second chance to advance, which played into Crittenden’s strategy.
He admitted that he was dealing with an adductor injury heading into Paris and used qualifying to give him an extra day of recovery.
The 30-year-old unsponsored Crittenden cruised in his qualifying heat on Sunday, but later praised for his ingenuity and gambling on his ability to thrive in the repechage. Tuesday he ran 13.42 to earn a spot in the final.
Crittenden and teammates Daniel Roberts and Grant Holloway have their sights set on an American sweep on Thursday.
