THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
In mid-September Mary Cain shared her status on Instagram, explaining, “These past couple of years I have been caught in an injury cycle – caught in that constant push to get back into form, and wouldn’t give my body the time it needed to recover or build the appropriate amount of base to race at a high level. It is said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, and that’s certainly what I’ve been doing.” Still only 22, she added that she will be taking her time with her current buildup.
An NCAA scorer in both short dashes this year, Tennessee sprinter Shania Collins is bypassing her final season of collegiate eligibility, having signed with adidas.
Jordan Hasay has withdrawn from the Chicago Marathon with “an ongoing fracture in my calcaneal [heel] bone.” This is a continuation of the same malady that forced her to withdraw from Boston in April.
Hurdle great Dawn Harper Nelson has retired at 34.
Prep 800 star Josh Hoey withdrew his commitment to Oregon and has opted to turn pro.
For the second year in a row UTEP has lost an NCAA 800 champion to the pro ranks early. Last year it was Emmanuel Korir, now it’s 1:43.25 performer Michael Saruni.
As part of his Chicago Marathon prep Galen Rupp was set to run the Copenhagen Half but withdrew with Achilles soreness. He’s still expected to run the Windy City 26-miler.
Jenn Suhr ended her season early when groin/pelvis pain led to an MRI that showed swelling, a cyst and a mass in her pelvis. Understandably, “pole vault will now take a back seat” as she pursues a diagnosis and treatment.
Internationally
Two Olympic discus gold medalists, 39-year-old Gerd Kanter of Estonia (’08) & 33-year-old Robert Harting of Germany (’12), retired in September to great fanfare at home meets in Berlin and Tallinn.
Bashir Abdi, Belgium’s European silver medalist in the 10,000, has retired from the track to concentrate on the roads.
Czech Jaroslav Bába, who won the ’04 Olympic high jump bronze, has retired at age 34.
Rough times for Belgian quartermilers at the end of the summer. Jonathan Borlée withdrew from the DL 400 final because of a hamstring injury and World Junior champ Jonathan Sacoor ended his season with a foot injury.
Apparently ageless sprinter Kim Collins, who is actually 42, has finally retired. A new career beckons, perhaps, as the St. Kittsian was DJ at the athletes’ party following Berlin’s ISTAF meet.
Conseslus Kipruto says he injured his foot while running—and winning—most of the Zürich steeple with one shoe on.
German steepler Gesa Felicitas-Krause lost the end of her season due to bronchitis.
Russian Antonina Krivoshapka, who ran her 400 PR of 49.16 a month before the positive test that earned her a 2-year ban, is reportedly training hard for ’19 now that her ban is over.
Former marathon World Record holder Patrick Makau has retired at age 33, pushed along by a chronic patella tendon injury.
Eliza McCartney was denied her shot at the Continental Cup vault by a heel injury.
Ongoing injuries (abductor and ankle) caused Jamaican hurdler Omar McLeod to end his season prior to the DL Final.
Triple jumper Pedro Pablo Pichardo, formerly of Cuba, has been cleared to start competing for Portugal on August 1, 2019, which means he is now in the mix for the Worlds.
This year’s only sub-13 hurdler, Russia’s Sergey Shubenkov will be bypassing the indoor season next year to focus on the outdoor Worlds.
It’s retirement for Jamaican sprinter Kerron Stewart, who ran on three world champion 4x1s, and claimed ’08 Olympic 100 silver.
Doping Bans
Life – Raphaël Piolanti (France, coach).
8 years – Aslı Çakır Alptekin (Turkey, 1500).
4 years – Adrian Griffith (Bahamas, sprints), Violah Jepchumba (Bahrain, distance), Vasily Kopeykin (Russia, LJ), Eliud Magut (Kenya, distance), Hadout Mousaab (Morocco, distance), Kabange Mupopo (Zambia, 400), Demi Payne (U.S., pole vault), Yelena Slesarenko (Russia, HJ);
2 years – Kseniya Agafonova (Russia, distance), Yekaterina Volkova (Russia, steeple);
1 year – Vera Barbosa (Portugal, 400H);
6 months – Caio Bonfim (Brazil, walks), Logan Boss (U.S., high jump). □
