Cordell Tinch sold cell phones during the pandemic — now he's days away from making the U.S. Olympic track team

U.S. track and field athlete Cordell Tinch knows about life’s hurdles.

U.S. track and field athlete Cordell Tinch knows about life’s hurdles.

After previously selling cellphones and operating machinery that makes toilet paper to pay the bills during the pandemic, he’s now chasing a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Games.

Tinch, who advanced to the 110-meter hurdle semifinal on Thursday in Eugene, Ore., at the U.S. Olympic Trials, described an upbringing that began in Green Bay, Wisconsin, when his mother Elizabeth Simmons had Tinch when she was just 16 years old.

“We were in a shelter because I was homeless,” Simmons told NBC News. “But seeing him, it made me say, ‘OK Elizabeth, you can cry later, but you gotta get this done today because he needs to eat. He needs clothes on his back.’”

Stream every moment, every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock, starting with the Opening Ceremony on July 26 at 12 p.m. ET.

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/olympics/cordell-tinch-hurdles-paris-olympics-rcna158939

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