He missed the Olympic Trials in 2016 due to injury. He missed the Olympic Trials for the 2021 Olympics due to injury.
Now fully healthy in 2024, Phoenix Track Club’s Freddie Crittenden is an Olympian.
As Crittenden said, “Third’s time the charm.”
At the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, Crittenden ran a personal-best time of 12.93 to finish second in the men’s 110-meter hurdles and punch his ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was a historic race as well. Adidas’ Grant Holloway finished first in 12.83 and Nike’s Daniel Roberts was third in 12.96, marking the first time in history that three runners all ran under 13 seconds in the same race.
With his 12.93, Crittenden moves into a tie for No. 13 on the all-time list in the history of the sport.
Crittenden — who just bought a house in the Valley and is an expectant first-time father — is coached by Tim O’Neil, the former Phoenix Sunnyslope prep track and field star now making his mark as a coach. O’Neil, currently at GCU, convinced a young Devon Allen to run hurdles while in high school at Phoenix Brophy Prep, setting Allen down a path that would lead to him becoming an NCAA champion and two-time Olympian. He also coached all-state hurdlers Bobby Grant and Isaiah Oliver.