Paris Olympics: Heatrbreak for Ekwam as he suffers injury on his debut, fails to finish
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 04.08.24. | 21:06
Ekwam was looking to cap off his birthday celebrations with qualification to the semifinals but appeared to have pulled off a muscle injury inside the final 200m of the race
Zablon Ekwam had an Olympic Games debut to forget after suffering an injury and subsequently failing to complete his race in Round One of the 400m at the Stade de France.
Ekwam was looking to cap off his birthday celebrations with qualification to the semifinals but appeared to have pulled off a muscle injury inside the final 200m of the race.
The 27-year-old had strapped his leg, perhaps indicating that he wasn’t fully fit.
The Kenya Defence Forces athlete, racing in Heat 6 of Round One, got off the blocks superbly and was well on course to finish inside the top three before the unfortunate happened.
He walked off the track and registered a Did Not Finish (DNF) in the end.
Revered track stars, especially from Jamaica, have suffered injuries in the ongoing Games and have ended up pulling out of the races.
Ekwam’s painful exit means that there will be no other Kenyan in the race, as he was a lone ranger having hit the qualifying time during the Kip Keino Classic at Nyayo Stadium.
Dobson Charles of Great Britain won the heat after clocking 44.96, with Alexander Doom coming in second in 45.01
Powell Jevaughn of Jamaica was third in 45.12 seconds.
The best three in each heat advanced to the semis with those finishing outside the bracket set to try their luck in the repechage.
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Meanwhile, a new champion will be crowned this year after defending champion Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas failed to take to the blocks.
Gardiner has been battling injuries for a while. His bid to reclaim the world title suffered a blow during last year’s championships in Budapest, where he suffered an injury in the semis.
