The track and field events at the Paris Olympics have taken centre stage, with the focus of the sporting world turning towards the Stade de France over the last couple of days.
Some of the finest athletes in the world are set to compete in their respective events over the next week, with some big names having already wowed at the games.
The men's 110m hurdles is always one of the more popular events, with their heats getting underway this morning. However, the most eye-catching moment came on the back of a relative lack of effort from one of the medal favourites.
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110m Hurdles Medal Favourite Jogs Through Heat At Olympics
America's Freddie Crittenden was viewed as one of the medal contenders coming into this Olympics, with it being expected that he would breeze through his heat in Paris this morning.
However, once his heat began, it became clear that he would not be winning his race. In fact, he would come last by quite a distance after jogging through the course.
Paris 2024: Strange happenings in the men's 110m hurdles, where one of the favourites for the event, the USA's Freddie Crittenden, jogged through his heat. Is he focusing on the repechage?#RTESport #Paris2024
📺 Watch https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7
📱Updates https://t.co/3UwmvDdtCu pic.twitter.com/IlYUjYsQIr— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 4, 2024
It is unclear why the American opted to go down this route, although it likely has something to do with the addition of the repechage at track events at this year's Olympics.
Those races have been an interesting addition to the programme, giving athletes who fail to advance from their heat another race in which they will have the opportunity to gain passage to the next round. Ireland's Cathal Doyle was among those to already benefit from the repechage so far in Paris.
Some have suggested that Crittenden carried an injury into the heats, and with the repechage not taking place until Tuesday, he may have simply got through this race before giving the ailment more time to heal ahead of that race.
In any case, it certainly made for a rather strange spectacle.
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