Australia’s Michelle Jenneke’s Olympics may have come to a disappointing end, but she did not bow out without a brave fight.
A shock fall in her heats on Wednesday relegated her to the repechage of the 100m hurdles, where she gave the crowd one of her huge trademark smiles at the starting blocks.
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But the relaxed show of joy was hiding what she revealed post-race to be a ‘fully ruptured’ hamstring from her fall – an injury that made even competing in the race remarkable.
After starting the first three hurdles with the rest of the field, the Aussie slowly started slipping behind the other six runners to finish last in the field, with a time of 13.86 – not enough to advance to the semi-finals.
That was almost a second and a half behind her season’s best of 12.65 set in Hengelo, Netherlands on July 7.
Despite the heartbreak, Jenneke was her usual cheerful self with media.
“It was kind of a miracle that I was here at all today,” she told Nine.
“It’s my first time trying to hurdle without one of my hamstring tendons attached.
“It was pretty tough out there, but I’m an Australian and I don’t give up.
“I knew I wasn’t going to run really fast today, but I did everything I could to be out here on the start line.”
Speaking of her happy demeanour that included her trademark pre-race dance, Jenneke said she was still ‘having a great time’ despite the injury.
“I am always going to have a good time when I’m racing, and the crowd out here is insane,” she said.
“I stood out there and I was soaking it all in and I was having a great time, despite everything that was going on with my body.
“I’m always going to do it because that’s what I do when I’m enjoying myself.”
The 31-year-old made her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, but did not compete at Tokyo 2020 and she had hopes of at least being a semifinalist in Paris.
South Africa’s Marione Fourie won the heat ahead of Maakyke Tjin-a-Lim to qualify for the semifinals.
Fellow Australians Celeste Mucci and Liz Clay were also trying to get through the repechages to the semis, but missed out after both finishing fifth in their respective heats.