SAINT-DENIS, France — In his Olympic debut, Freddie Crittenden III looked to make a statement in the men's 110-meter hurdles final Thursday.
Fellow American and Tokyo silver medalist Grant Holloway was the favorite in the race, posting the best time of the semifinals at 12.98 seconds. Holloway continued his dominance in this event and proved why there were high expectations on him. With a time of 12.99 seconds, Holloway won his first gold medal.
Team USA took the silver as well. Daniel Roberts out leaned Jamaican Rasheed Broadbell by five thousandths of a second.
Crittenden came in sixth, posting a time of 13.32 seconds.
Although Crittenden, nephew of NFL Hall-of-Famer and Iowa native Kurt Warner, came into Paris as the second-fastest hurdler in the world, he didn't have the easiest path to the finals.
"I’m taken back by the opp each of these athletes is given to compete to be THE BEST in the world," Warner wrote on X. "...Part of me wants ALL of them to win, to feel it, but another part can only imagine what the winner in that movement must feel & I can’t wait for those who’ve earned it to have that feeling!"
While rehabbing from a minor injury, Crittenden purposely jogged his preliminary heat and finished five seconds behind the second-to-last runner. That finish guaranteed him another chance to advance in the repechage round.
His strategy paid off, qualifying for the finals as the seventh of eight qualifiers with a time of 13.23 seconds.
At the U.S. Olympic Trials, he ran a personal best 12.93 seconds, finishing in second place just 0.07 seconds behind winner Grant Holloway.
Grant Holloway of USA won gold, Daniel Roberts of USA won silver and Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica finished bronze.
- Grant Holloway, USA (12.99 seconds)
- Daniel Roberts, USA (13.09 seconds)
- Rasheed Broadbell, Jamaica (13.09 seconds)
- Enrique Llopis, Spain (13.20 seconds)
- Rachid Muratake, Japan (13.21 seconds)
- Freddie Crittenden, USA (13.32 seconds)
- Orlando Bennett, Jamaica (13.34 seconds)
- Hansle Parchment, Jamaica (13.39 seconds)
