Injured Drouin passes on track nationals
OTTAWA An Achilles tendon “flareup” has knocked Olympic high jump champion Derek Drouin out of the Canadian Track and Field Championships.
Drouin was at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility in Ottawa on Thursday, but only as a spectator after national team doctors advised him not to risk further injury to his left leg with the International Association of Athletics Federations world championships in London only a month away.
“I haven’t competed in Canada since the national championships (at Edmonton) last year, and it’s something that I always really enjoy. It’s one of the highlights of my year every year,” Drouin said.
“It’s really disappointing. I have family here who really would have loved to see me compete.
“Luckily my sister (Jillian) is doing a ton of events, so they still have lots to watch.”
The 27-year-old from Toronto said the Achilles problem flared up a couple of weeks ago when he woke up one morning with a sore, stiff leg. He hadn’t been able to train since, but hoped he would at least be able to warm up and test it before nationals in Ottawa.
On the other hand, he wasn’t at all surprised when national team doctors gave him the no-go verdict on Thursday morning.
“I don’t suspect it’s going to keep me out for very long, but with the world championships in five weeks, that’s really the real goal and I’m going to try to get in peak condition for that event,” Drouin said.
Drouin battled back problems last year, However, he recovered well enough that he not only won the Canadian title with a jump of 2.30 metres in Edmonton, but placed seventh in a Diamond League meet in France (with a 2.27), won an event in Germany (with a personal-best 2.38) and then claimed Olympic gold at the Rio Summer Games (also 2.38).
Having lived through that experience, Drouin said he remains confident he could be back in peak form in a matter of a few weeks. His 2017 results include a victory in the Drake Relays in Iowa in April (2.30) and third place in the Bislett Games in Norway (2.25) in June.
“The reason why it’s not very discouraging is that, by this point, I have put in nine months of really hard training that I’m not going to lose in two weeks,” he said.