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December 2009
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Injury foils Howe's quest for Long Jump gold in Berlin |
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21.04.2009 |
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Long Jump silver medallist in Osaka, Andrew Howe
will not be able to defend his title in Berlin IAAF World
Championships. However the Italian plans to compete
in sprint events.
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Reigning European Long Jump champion Andrew Howe of Italy who has been suffering
from an injury to his left Achilles tendon will not be able to stake his claim
for the Long Jump gold at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin later
this year.
However, the Italian remains confident of being able to compete in the
sprints.
"It is quite impossible to compete in the Long Jump. I will try sprint
events. If everything goes fine, I will run a 400 metres race at the
end of June and I will try to qualify for the World Championships in
Berlin in the 200 metres, but unfortunately my long jump season is over," Howe
was quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I saw the ultrasound scan on my tendon. If it tears, I could well
be out for the next two years", he added.
Andrew Howe is now back to his training base in Vigna di Valle after
a period of rehabilitation from the injury he picked during the Moscow
IAAF Indoor meeting where he won with 8.02.
He underwent a series of therapies at the training centre la Pinetina
of the famous Milan football club Inter in Appiano Gentile.
When asked about Sebastian Bayer‘s phenomenal leap of 8.71 at the European
Athletics Indoor championships in Torino, Howe said: "It was inevitable that
someone would have managed to emerge. He made a great jump and looked very
easy. If I had competed in Torino, it could have been a different
competition."
Howe was however ecstatic about the performance of Italian athletes at
Torino 2009.
"I would have liked to compete in Torino. But I am very happy with
the great results achieved by the Italian team, especially for Fabrizio Donato (Triple
Jump) who really deserved his gold medal after so many injuries and sacrifices.
I hope to see Claudio Licciardello reach the final in Berlin with
a sub-45 time in the 400 metres."
Italy finished joint third on medals table with six medals including two gold,
two silver and two bronze medals. Russia topped the tally with 18 medals, followed
by Germany 10 and France (6).
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