ONTD

Relay athlete breaks leg mid-race,
keeps going.





U.S. sprinter Manteo Mitchell breaks leg mid-race - and keeps on going

Instead of admitting defeat, Mitchell completed his portion of the relay in 46.1 seconds, landing him in fifth place as he passed the baton to Joshua Mance, who completed his sprint only 1.5 seconds faster.

A U.S. sprinter broke his leg during the semi-final of the 1,600-meter relay — and kept on running anyway.

Manteo Mitchell felt a pop in his left leg halfway into his 400-meter portion of the race, followed by searing pain.

But he didn't want to let his teammates or country down, so kept on racing and helped secure Team U.S.A. a place in the final.

"I felt like somebody had literally just snapped my leg in half," Mitchell told The Associated Press.

"I heard it and I felt it. But I figured it's what almost any person would've done in that situation."

The 25-year-old from Cullowhee, N.C., first injured his leg three days before Thursday's race when he landed awkwardly while climbing stairs in the Olympic Village.

He had treatment and felt fine, even hoping to complete his leg of the relay in under 44 seconds.

Then it all went painfully wrong.

“As soon as I took the first step past the 200-meter mark, I felt it break," he said. "I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn't hear it.

"I just wanted to lie down."

Instead of admitting defeat, Mitchell completed his portion of the race in 46.1 seconds, landing him in fifth place as he passed the baton to Joshua Mance, who completed his sprint only 1.5 seconds faster.

The four-member U.S. team finished the race in 2 minutes, 58.87 seconds, tying for first place with the Bahamas and making history for the fastest time ever run in the first round of an Olympic relay.

“I saw Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand (the baton) off to him, which lifted me," Mitchell said. “I didn't want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it."

“Every step I took, it got more painful," he added. “But I was out there already. I just wanted to finish and do what I was called in to do."

A post-race X-ray showed Mitchell suffered a complete break of the left fibula. The injury is expected to heal on its own in four to six weeks.

He has been fitted with a boot and given crutches, which he will use to hobble around the Olympic Park and cheer on his teammates when they run for the gold on Saturday.

Mitchell will still get a medal if the team wins as he competed in the qualifying races.

"Even though track is an individual sport, you've got three guys depending on you, the whole world watching you," said Mitchell who said he was repeating the mantra: “Faith, focus, finish” as he powered through the pain.

"You don't want to let anyone down," he added.

"I was doing my job."

The U.S. is expected to announce on Friday the lineup for the final.


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