Injury forces Janek Õiglane out of Tokyo world champs decathlon
Estonian decathlete Janek Õiglane's World Championships campaign in Tokyo came to an early end after the shot put, when an injury forced him to withdraw from the competition.
Õiglane, one of Estonia's top 12 finishers at last year's Paris Olympics, opened the decathlon on Tokyo with a time of 11.16 seconds in the 100 meters, but his first two attempts in the long jump proved unsuccessful. "I said already on Friday that I'd like to settle it with just one jump in the long jump. The first attempt actually felt decent — around 6.70. But after that, it started to feel tender," Õiglane told ERR afterwards,
The Estonian managed 6.61 meters on his third attempt, then hobbled into the shot put ring, where he recorded a mark of 13.71 meters on his second throw — then called it a day.
"Tears have been shed — it's hard," he conceded. "There are two key moments in the shot. The first push is with the left leg, and I felt it right away. I couldn't plant for the block either, which meant the upper body was doing nothing. You can't expect much distance like that. I'm an athlete, and I could feel it — this wasn't like sport anymore."
"I can't say exactly what the situation is. I really don't want to bend my knee. I honestly don't know what's wrong right now. I don't know," he added.
Õiglane compared his current condition to last year's meet in Paris, where he ultimately managed to push through. "No such luck this time. In Paris, I got it together on the second attempt. The situation was a bit better. This is just sad," he went on.
The men's decathlon continues Saturday afternoon. Estonia has two more competitors, both top 12 Paris Olympic finishers: Johannes Erm and Karel Tilga.
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Editor: Juhan Kilumets, Andrew Whyte
