When it comes to athletic racing, the aim of the game is to cross the line as quickly as possible, right?
Well, sort of – and sort of not, weirdly.
Many people watching the first-round heat of the men’s 110m hurdles were left feeling pretty baffled when they saw American athlete Freddie Crittenden taken an interesting approach – only to realise it’s actually a pretty clever tactic.
A way below-average time
Those who knew about his previous times in the same race were stumped as they watched him compete.
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At the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships earlier this year, for instance, he crossed the finish line in 12.93 seconds.
However, during this Olympics heat, it took him an entire 18.27 seconds.
Why did Freddie Crittenden jog?
Crittenden and his team had worked out a way he could jog the entire race, and still have the chance of competing to go through to the semi-finals.
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The athlete revealed later in an interview that he had, in fact, used the race rules to his advantage - as the Paris Games is the first Olympics to have repechage rounds in some track events.
What are repechage rounds?
Traditionally, track events started with the heats, with the best finishers from each heat qualifying for the semi-finals.
However, in 2022, World Athletics - the governing body of athletics - introduced repechage rounds in some sporting events, which are essentially a second chance for athletes who didn't qualify for the semi-finals in the heats.
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In an interview with NBC, Crittenden admitted that he had jogged the race on purpose, giving his body a chance to recover from an injury.
He said: "It was an intentional choice. Everyone gets through to the repechage. … So I decided to just, not make an emotional choice, make a smart choice, give my body time to recover a little bit from being aggravated, lean on my medical doctors, lean on God, and just wait for the repechage round, come out here and try to kill it in the repechage round."
Now that is a smart move!
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While the strategy helped land Crittenden in the final, he sadly finished in sixth place so lost out on any medals.
A surprisingly common practice
It’s not just Crittenden choosing to slow his pace on purpose, either, as it’s actually a common practice among athletes – many of whom also pull back as they approach the finish line.
Also known as ‘pacing’, it helps athletes not only reserve energy for later, more important, races, but also helps them avoid injury.
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It can also be a form of showboating, as Michael Jordan’s coach Clyde Hart once explained: “Backing off the last stride or two is more of an ego thing. The sprinters are saying, ‘Here I am out front. I can ease up and still beat you.’”
Ato Boldon, sprinter and four-time Olympic medallist, added: "In your own mind you are thinking that I 'shut it down' before the line came, which means that 'I still can go much faster'.
"Unless it's in a quarter-final round or heat and it's a significant shutdown, it's really not to save any energy, because none is saved by running 35 out of 44 steps of a 100-meters hard and backing off for those final nine."
Jess Hardiman