Thats my Catamount
. Puttin my school and the USA on his back doe
LONDON – Whatever happens to the U.S. men's 4x400-meter relay team in the final Friday night, quarter-miler Manteo Mitchell deserves a gold medal for courage, it appears.
Thursday evening, long after the USA had qualified in morning heats with Mitchell running the leadoff leg, USA Track and Field announced that Mitchell had broken his left fibula halfway through the race.
Mitchell, 25, of Cullowhee, N.C., who made the relay pool by finishing fifth in the 400 at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., gave this account of the injury to USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer:
"Three days ago I was going up the stairs, and I kind of missed one and landed awkwardly. I got treatment, and I was fine. I did workouts, and when I warmed up today I felt really well. I felt I could go 44 (seconds)-low. I got out pretty slow, but I picked it up and when I got to the 100-meter mark it felt weird. I was thinking I just didn't feel right. As soon as I took the first step past the 200-meter mark, I felt it break. I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn't hear it. I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.
"I knew if I finished strong we could still get it (the baton) around. I saw (teammate) Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me. I didn't want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad. I'm pretty amazed that I still split 45 seconds on a broken leg."
Max Siegel, the CEO of USATF, called Manteo "an inspiration and a hero for his teammates. Without his courage and determination to finish, Team USA would not be at the starting line in the final. The team has rallied around him and we are all looking forward to the final days of competition."
The U.S. team won't announce a 4x400 lineup until Friday morning, but former Olympic 400 champ Jeremy Wariner is unavailable because of a hamstring injury. The top U.S. 400-meter runner, LaShawn Merritt, pulled out of the 400 earlier in the Games with a hamstring injury and is also unavailable.
Likely to replace Mitchell is veteran Angelo Taylor, a two-time 400 hurdles Olympic champ.
USA's Manteo Mitchell runs 4x400 relay on broken leg – USATODAY.com
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