Michelle Jenneke’s Olympic campaign has probably come to an unfortunate end, with the star 100m hurdler suffering a knee injury and crashing to the track after hitting the third barrier in the opening round.
Jenneke, 31, bravely got to her feet and completed the race, which means she would be able to contest the repechage round on Thursday if given the all-clear by the Australian team doctor.
But that seems rather unlikely after she felt the right knee pop shortly before the accident.
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“I actually feel like I’m in great shape,” said Jenneke, who is contesting her third Olympics.
“I got out really well and I’m really proud of that.
“And then, I think it was the third hurdle. I just felt something pop in my lead leg down towards my knee, and so I just like lost all power, and that’s why I took a tumble.
“But I just really wanted to make sure that I got up and I finished.
“First of all, it’s the Olympic Games and I want to be doing that.
“And second of all, I thought there was still a chance that I might be able to do the repechage tomorrow.”
The immediate priority for Jenneke was an appointment with the Australian medical staff to ascertain the extent of the injury.
“I’m really hoping it’ll be alright and I should definitely be able to race the repechage,” said the 31-year-old.
“That’s the plan.
“We’re just going to see how things pan out over the next 24 hours.”
The incident shocked the commentators.
“That was just nasty,” Tamsyn Manou said on Nine when watching it again.
“(Hurdles can be) dangerous …. that was hard to watch.”
Jenneke had felt some soreness in the knee in the previous few days, but nothing to suggest that this was going to happen.
Countrywomen Liz Clay and Celeste Mucci will contest the repechage round on Thursday.
In better news for the Australian team, 2023 world championships bronze medallist Mackenzie Little and evergreen Kathryn Mitchell both advanced to the women’s javelin final.
Little overcame a “sloppy” first throw to better the automatic qualifying standard of 62m with a 62.82m effort in the second round.
Competing at her fourth successive Olympics, Mitchell managed 62.40m in her first competition since April.
But Kelsey-Lee Barber looked a shadow of the athlete who won two successive world titles in 2019 and 2022 and the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
She could only manage 57.73m and was eliminated.
Olympic debutant Peyton Craig was an impressive third in his 800m heat in 1:45.81 and advanced straight to the semi-finals on Friday.
However Tokyo Olympics finalist Peter Bol and his former training partner Joseph Deng – who is now based in South Africa – were pitched into the repechage round on Thursday.
Bol ran near the front of the pack for much of his heat before slowing right down to conserve energy when it became clear he wouldn’t finish in the top three.
None of Australia’s three male high jumpers, Brandon Starc, Yual Reath and Joel Baden, advanced from the qualifying round.
Tokyo Olympics finalist Starc was closest with a season’s best clearance of 2.24m, only to be squeezed out on countback.
– With Cameron Noakes