Meet Cordell Tinch, hurdler who sold cell phones during COVID-19 Pandemic, set to compete against Grant Holloway at U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials

Cordell Tinch, who was out of track competitions for three years, is now competing at the 2024 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials to book his spot in the USA’s squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 23-year-old is vying for a top-three finish in the 110m hurdles finals at the trials.

At the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, he qualified for the semi-finals of the 110m hurdles, recording a time of 13.33 (- 0.3 m/s), by finishing 2nd in heat 2. He also had the ninth-best timing among all the USA athletes who participated in the 110m hurdles.

Cordell Tinch will next feature in the semi-finals of the event at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, scheduled for June 27 during the evening session. If he advances to the final, Tinch will be slated to compete on June 28, Friday and is likely to face Grant Holloway in the finals.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic had taken a serious toll on Tinch's life. After returning to his home in Green Bay, a break from his regular routine resulted in him feeling very detached from both studies and track and field. As a result, he decided to take a temporary break from everything for sometime.

During this period, Cordell Tinch involved himself in jobs like selling mobile phones, installing cables, and operating machinery to make ends meet.

However, things changed when his University of Kansas roommate Treyvon Ferguson reached out to him and tried to convince him to join the Pittsburgh State track and field team. Initially hesitant to join, Tinch finally gave it a shot after a lot of persuasion from his parents and friends.

Following joining Pittsburgh for the 2022-23 season, Tinch claimed three national titles at the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 110m hurdles, high jump, and long jump with performances of 12.87s, 2.21m, and 8.16m respectively.

A look into Cordell Tinch’s performance in the 2024 season

Cordell Tinch competes in the Men's 110m Hurdles during the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on July 08, 2023 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

During the indoor season, Cordell Tinch competed at the 2024 USA Championships where he came sixth with a time of 7.58s in the men’s 60m.

He opened his outdoor season at the Xiamen Diamond League, placing second to the 2023 World Championships bronze medalist Daniel Roberts, as he ran a 13.16m. Before competing at the trials, he participated in the USATF New York City Grand Prix in June where he came fifth in the 110m hurdles.