THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
Auburn’s Favour Ashe reportedly irritated a previous injury and had to scratch from the NCAA 60 final. After tying his best in the semi, he was seen clutching his right hamstring.
Donavan Brazier reports that he had surgery in February to clear out the scar tissue left from a ’22 surgery on his heel for Haglund’s deformity (see Last Lap).
Keira D’Amato withdrew from the London Marathon, explaining, “I had a little hiccup in training in January and decided to get back to 100% before building up (short story involving a car door and my knee irritated by lifting…). It resolved quickly and I’m back in full force… but… this delayed my marathon buildup.”
3rd in the USATF discus last year, Rachel Dincoff ruptured her Achilles while doing a drill in training. She details, “As I switched my legs to absorb the ground with my right, I felt a THUD. I dropped to the ground in confusion, wondering what had fell from the sky and hit me in the back of my leg.” Surgery followed. “The loss of my season is gut-wrenching.”
Razorback All-America Lauren Gregory will miss the outdoor season after suffering a navicular fracture in her right foot while competing while placing 2nd in the NCAA Indoor mile. She had surgery four days later.
Aleia Hobbs set an American Record in the USATF 60, but it came at a price. After the finish, she fell, and while she jumped up to happily celebrate, she didn’t realize that she had broken a bone in her hand. Surgery followed.
Prep sprint star Shawnti Jackson pulled out of the New Balance Nationals 60 final with a hamstring problem.
Another to pull out of the London Marathon is Emily Sisson. “I tweaked something in my hip during a workout a few weeks ago, and it just didn’t quite heal fast enough!” she said in late March. “I have taken a few days off since then & have been slowly increasing my runs — and things are feeling a lot better! Feeling fortunate it isn’t something a lot worse; just bad timing.”
Wake Forest’s Belgian star Thomas Vanoppen, the NCAA 4th-placer in the 1500 last year, missed the Indoor mile final after breaking his toe in the heats.
The International Scene…
Ethiopia’s Tigest Assefa pulled out of the London Marathon with tendinitis problems.
A 2:22:46 marathoner, Purity Changwony of Kenya has been provisionally suspended after a positive test.
Twice a medalist in the 800 at the Euro Indoors, Ireland’s Mark English was forced by illness to withdraw from this year’s edition.
Spanish hurdler Enrique Llopis hit his head on the track in a crash at the Euros, but later reported, “Everything is good, all the tests came back fine.”
British ace Eilish McColgan withdrew from the NYC Half Marathon with a knee injury, described as a “slight niggle.”
In what he says is his last track race ever, New Zealand’s Eddie Osei-Nketia won a 100 in 10.13 in Brisbane. Now he leaves track to play football for Hawai‘i, which doesn’t have a men’s track team.
Jess Piasecki, the No. 2 British marathoner ever at 2:22:27, has had to pull out of London with an injury.
Portuguese hammer recordholder Vania Silva has announced her retirement at age 42.
World and Olympic 800 finalist Gabriel Tual has had collarbone surgery after a fall at practice. He is still expected to compete this summer.
Karsten Warholm has confirmed that he is past last year’s hamstring troubles: “I don’t think that holds me back at all. I’ve been training better than ever. So I don’t think it is any problem for now.”
Doping Bans…
8 years — Zane Robertson (New Zealand, distance);
18 months — Raven Saunders (U.S., shot; see Last Lap). □