Heptathlete Abdulai begins clearing hurdles after injury layoff
Torn tendon, lengthy absence from competition makes goal of securing a berth in London Olympics extra challenging for Coquitlam woman
Ruky Abdulai has spent more time in the pool than on the track this spring, which wouldn’t be an issue if the 100metre freestyle was part of the seven- event heptathlon.
But as the Ghanian- born Canadian from Coquitlam tries to work her way back into running, hurdling and throwing form after treatment for a tear of the patellar tendon in her right knee — a process that included rehab in the pool — she has been left with little preparation time in the quest to earn an Olympic spot in London this summer.
The slender, soft- spoken Abdulai, 26, was a star long jumper and hurdler for four years at SFU, and became a Canadian citizen in early 2008. She went to the Beijing Olympics as a long jumper, finishing 25th, then turned her attention in 2010 to the heptathlon.
She surprised some of her coaches by scoring a solid 6,086 and winning the Mount Sac Relays in California in her first attempt. She repeated in 2011 with a score of 6,105, won the Canadian championships last June with a score of 6,150 then racked up 6,212 points, despite a sore hamstring, to finish an encouraging 13th at the world championships two months later in South Korea.
But she hasn’t done a heptathlon since the worlds, slowed by what was initially a slight tear in the tendon. After trying to high jump indoors in February, the pain wouldn’t allow her to finish. Once the swelling went down and an ultrasound was done, it showed the tear had increased. The solution was to inject plasma into the tendon.
“We had to make some very quick decisions,” said Brit Townsend, the SFU track coach who is still part of Abdulai’s coaching team. “I did some very fast research, talked to a lot of people. It came down to that was the best decision.
“It wasn’t the best as far as timing, but you can’t go into the Olympic Games with something bugging you.”
Making things a little difficult, said Townsend, is that there is not a set protocol for coming back. Abdulai had a very high concentration of plasma in March and then a second lower concentration six weeks later.
She just started to get back up to speed in training last week and only began running over hurdles last Friday.
Still, Abdulai says she feels good three weeks out from the Canadian Olympic trials in Calgary, where she will need to exceed the B standard of 5,950 and finish in the top three to earn a trip to London. Multipletime Canadian champion Jessica Zelinka of Calgary ( seasonbest of 6,393) and Brianne Thiesen of Saskatoon ( 6,353) have already met the standards and just need a top three in Calgary to earn their Olympic berth.
“I’m not that worried,” says Abdulai. “My first heptathlon, when I had never done it before, I scored more than the B standard.
“I was a little worried when I was having this injury because mentally I was stressed. If I’m not able to train, it’s really challenging because I know other people are training and I’m not. But now that I’ve started doing my workouts, it doesn’t even feel like I was injured. So my confidence is coming back.”
With no opportunity to do a heptathlon before Calgary, Abdulai will do selected events at several meets over the next week.
She’ll compete in the 100metre hurdles and the javelin at the Lafarge International Track Classic in Abbotsford on Wednesday, the shot put, 200 metres and possibly the high jump at UBC on Friday, the javelin and long jump at The Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome International Track Classic on Sunday in Burnaby and the long jump in Victoria next week.
“They’re high- level meets and there’s going to be some stress around them, which is good preparation for her,” says Townsend. “They’re not going to be [ personal bests] and she needs to be prepared for that.
“You don’t walk out of being off for this long and get absolute best performances, but the idea is to get her into the rhythm and see where we’re at. If she can make the [ Olympic] team, we’ve got time.”
Townsend says Abdulai is a “tough girl ... and a strong competitor” who can handle the pressure of performing at Calgary. “She wants it badly.”
Abdulai says that despite her lack of training, she remains upbeat about what she can potentially do at London.
“I’ve always had three goals when I was coming to Canada — to make the Canadian team, to compete at the Olympics and to win a medal. Obviously, I’ve accomplished two and I want to win a medal. Even though I know this year I haven’t done much, I still have that goal.
“And if it doesn’t happen this year because of what I have been through, then four years from now, in Brazil [ at the next Olympics], I’m going to go.”