NGONIDZASHE Makusha’s preparations for next month’s IAAF World Championships in Moscow suffered a setback after the track and field star retired from the long jump event at the Paris Diamond League meet at the weekend. DANIEL NHAKANISO
The 26-year-old 2012 World Championships bronze medallist and national 100m and long jump record holder retired after completing just one of the scheduled six rounds of the competition at the Stade de France.
In an interview with NewsDay Sport yesterday, Makusha, who is yet to qualify for the World Championships, said he pulled out of the competition after realising he could further aggravate the injury.
“I withdrew because my quadriceps tightened up on me during the competition. I just didn’t want to push through the pain and injure the leg more. I’m still working on qualifying for the world championships,” said Makusha.
The US-based star’s decision to withdraw in the middle of the competition turned out to be a wise move. One of his rivals, Great Britain’s Greg Rutherford, who is the reigning Olympic champion pushed on for three rounds in the competition despite feeling some discomfort and is now a doubt for next month’s World Championships after pulling his right hamstring.
Damar Forbes, the fast rising Jamaican long jumper, won the event after his second round leap of 8,11 edged out Great Britain’s Chris Tomlinson (8,08) and Louis Tsatoumas (8,02) to win his first ever Long Jump at the Diamond League.
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Makusha was using the Paris Diamond League meet to prepare for the 2013 IAAF World Championships to be held in Moscow, Russia from August 10-18. His season-best jump of 8,04 metres is still short of the A standard mark of 8,25 and the B standard mark of 8,10m.
The latest setback comes barely three months after Makusha returned from a long term injury. The Florida based star had been absent on the international scene for almost a year after rupturing his Achilles tendon during a training session last May, an injury that forced him out of the London Summer Olympic Games.