SAINT-DENIS, France -- As he walked off the purple track at Stade de France on Wednesday, American hurdler Freddie Crittenden saw two familiar faces before he disappeared into the tunnel.
They belonged to his Uncle Kurt and Aunt B.
The rest of the world knows them as Kurt and Brenda Warner. Yes, that Kurt Warner. The same Kurt Warner who led the then-St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl nearly 25 years ago, en route to winning a pair of NFL MVP Awards and earning a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"My uncle, he's very emotional," Crittenden said. "He was like, 'I'm going to give you a hug, but I can't talk too much because I'm going to start crying.'"
With one race to go in his quest for an Olympic medal, the 30-year-old Crittenden couldn't have that. The tears can't come until his mission is done.
"I was like, 'I got to go before y'all make me cry,'" Crittenden told the Warners, his relatives vis-à-vis his wife, who just had her and Crittenden's first child three weeks ago.
As he said his goodbyes to the Warners, Crittenden walked away an Olympic finalist. His 13.23-second showing in Wednesday's 110-meter hurdles semifinal moments prior was good enough to finish second in his heat, automatically qualifying him for Thursday's final alongside Americans Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts.
"I'm trying not to let those [emotions] happen right now because I'm just trying to save all my energy for the rounds," Crittenden said. "They'll probably come out [Thursday] to be honest. Whatever happens, you'll see me somewhere."
No one would blame the hurdler if he let the waterworks flow a little prematurely, though. After all, Crittenden has had a difficult journey to reach the Olympics. At one point, he was substitute teaching while simultaneously chasing his dreams for Paris. An unsponsored athlete, he has also spent time cramming training around shifts at warehouses and video game retailers.
Then, after all it took for him to qualify for this trip to Paris, on the day before his first heat of his first Olympics, Crittenden got hurt.
A sudden injury to his right adductor caused Crittenden so much pain that he made the difficult decision to run his first race just cleanly enough to make it to the repechage round. It meant going slowly -- not too far off from jogging speed -- and trying to avoid hitting any hurdles, while trying to also demonstrate he was putting forth effort.
"My body wasn't feeling it and I wanted to just make sure I could have another day to really give it a good go," Crittenden said.
His opening-round heat resulted in an 18.27-second showing, nearly five seconds slower than his competitors. Less than an hour after the heat, officials from the IOC and World Athletics checked with Team USA's medical staff to make sure he wasn't faking the injury. Signing off on what they were told, all necessary officials cleared him to continue competing.
200 IQ move. Freddie Crittenden jogs through his hurdle heat knowing he will automatically qualify for the repechage round. 🧠 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/XavgR7DMev
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
Crittenden believes he benefited from the extra opportunity to prove himself in the repechage round. His times have shown it, too.
"If I'm on an Olympic start line, I want to be able to just floor it and see what I can do," Crittenden said. "And luckily, there was a repechage round and I was able to do that and it's worked beautifully for me."
Crittenden won Tuesday's repechage heat, running it in 13.42 seconds. That advanced him into Wednesday's semifinal.
"I've never had so much tape on in my life," Crittenden said, pointing to Team USA-branded KT tape that ran down part of his right leg. "And I have a compression sleeve, and we got a lot going on with cream and all the sticky.
From the repechage to the Olympic final!
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2024
Freddie Crittenden is a genius. 🧠#ParisOlympics
📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/HLRvvLePrC
"But my adductor feels great, and now I'm working on all the other stuff that's been [overcompensated], and just trying to make sure my body's working together and functioning. I feel good now. And now it's just managing fatigue."
He said he doesn't believe the prospect of running three straight days will be as physically taxing as it will be mentally.
"The actual race effort wasn't too much for me," Crittenden said. "It's just making sure I'm recovering and healthy and ready to go again."
All of that explains why Crittenden is hoping Uncle Kurt and Aunt B can be like him and stay even-keeled a little longer; at least, until he crosses the finish line for the final time at these Olympics.