Top Olympic 110m hurdler leaves viewers in shock after jogging through race

If there is ever a time to ditch the mantra 'slow and steady wins the race', you'd reckon it would be the Olympics.

But Team USA athlete Freddie Crittenden seemingly decided to take the tortoise and the hare approach while competing in the first round of the Men's 110m hurdles today (4 August).

Although he is currently ranked fourth in the world, the 30-year-old's Olympic debut in Paris got off to a sluggish start, despite him needing to bag a decent time to advance to the semi-finals.

The top-three finishers and the athletes who bag the next-three fastest times progress.

But according to sports fans, Crittenden opted to put on 'one of the strangest performances you'll see at the Olympics' as he jogged through the race, rather than running at full pelt like his competitors from around the world.

Footage shows how the Missouri-born star - who has a personal best of 12.93 seconds in the 110m hurdles - began to lag behind right after the first jump, before it soon became clear he was intentionally taking it slowly.

Incredibly though, Crittenden will still have a chance at bringing home a gold medal despite coming in last.

He bagged a time of 18.27 seconds due to his decision to jog through the race on the world's biggest sporting stage, but will now be put into the repechage rounds which take place on Tuesday (6 August).

If you were wondering whether Crittenden just simply woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning, you'd be mistaken, as he actually took a leisurely approach to the heats to be strategic.

Following the race, he explained that he was 'slightly injured' and wanted to save himself for Tuesday when he gets a second chance at impressing.

According to Eurosport, Crittenden hopes he will be feeling much better by then and will be able to make the top six, allowing him to earn a spot in the semi-finals.

Reporters who chatted to the athlete after the race said that he had an 'aggravated muscle' in his leg, which is why he took it easy.

Fans of the star were disappointed in his lacklustre performance though, especially as he had come second at the 2024 US Olympic Trials in the 110m hurdles to secure his spot in this year's Olympics.

Many took to social media to question his approach.

One said: "What is that jog by the USA's Freddie Crittenden? Mens 110m hurdles & you're slowing down to 'walk' over a hurdle? Man came last & left us confused like he didn't know the game lmao. Hope he's not injured to be doing that."

Another wrote: "Freddie Crittenden is the reason that repechage shouldn’t exist. Using his heat as a warm up. Ridiculous."

A third added: "Freddie Crittenden has just single handedly got rid of the repechage from future games."

A fourth commented: "Boy Freddie Crittenden playing chess!"

While a fifth chimed in: "What happened to Freddie Crittenden? He literally jogged."