Sports Injuries

Tyson Gay collapsed during the quarterfinals of the 200 meter race at the Olympic Trials due to a bad cramp in his hamstring. He will still travel to Beijing to compete in the 100 meter race and 4X100 and 4X400 relays but cannot compete in the 200 meter race anymore. In other sports an appeal can be made for special circumstances but this is not allowed in track and Gay will have to accept defeat and not compete in the 200 meter event in Beijing. This was not the first time Gay did not complete a race due to an injury. The same thing happened in 2004 during the final round of an Olympic Trials race when Gay was unable to complete the race.

Two years ago during a 100 meter hurdle race, a friend of mine hit one of the hurdles and fell face first. She landed on her stomach and had scrapes and cuts on her arms and legs. She didn’t finish the race but after a few minutes she said she felt fine and later that day she ran in another race. Another friend of mine hit a hurdle during a race last year and also fell as a result. She got right back up and continued the race. Even though she had fallen she recovered so quickly that she almost caught up with the rest of the runners. I always thought it was really brave of her to finish running that race and I decided that if I ever fall during a hurdle race I would continue if I could.