ROCKY TAKEOFF
Ex-Giant Wilson struggles in 1st leap toward Olympic goal
Just 10 months after injury robbed David Wilson of his career as a professional football player, he has started one as a professional track star. Less than a year after spinal stenosis killed the former Giant running back’s Super Bowl goal, his Olympic aspirations were born. But they will take a lot of work.
The first steps came at Saturday’s Adidas Grand Prix on Randall’s Island, or at least the first jumps. Wilson triple jumped for the first time since his sophomore year at Virginia Tech, and finished last with a leap of 14.66 meters (or 48 feet, 1 inch) at Icahn Stadium.
“I wasn’t proud of the way I performed, but it was a good experience,’’ Wilson said. “I just started running track. I came straight from football. You could see on the runway: I look like a football player.
“For football, a running back needs speed, quickness, power and balance. The same thing for the triple jump, but its formatted in a different order. … I was national champ twice in high school, an All-American in college. I figured if I practiced for it, trained for it, I could get better.’’
Wilson — who has shed 14 pounds off his playing weight of 210 — still looked burly and nowhere near as lithe and fluid as his competitors, including Cuban winner Pedro Pichardo (17.56 meters) and Wilson’s own training partner, runner-up Will Claye (16.96).
He had jumped 51 feet in practice using six or eight steps. But out of control after switching to 12 for more speed, his first leap was just 14.34 meters — just over 47 feet. He faulted on his second and went 14.66 meters (48-1) on his third, smacking the sand in the pit and failing to qualify for the final flight of jumps.
“This is the first time I did a fullspeed jump since 2011. But fortunately I have another track meet [Sunday],’’ Wilson said. “I’m going to try jumping from eight steps. I wanted get my feet wet, and I did it on a big stage. I wanted to see what it was, and once I’ve seen [I can get better].’’
Wilson is used to the big stage. He showed tantalizing promise in his two years as a Giant, including a huge 327 all-purpose yard game that shattered the team record. But he suffered a neck injury while being gang-tackled against Philadelphia in 2013, and never played again. He had surgery that following January and returned to practice in July only to suffer another neck injury that left his arm numb.
Doctors advised him to retire, and after just 21 games, at the age of 23, his career was over. But now he has another.
While at George Washington High School (Va.), he had won the triple jump at the Nike Indoor Meet with a meet-record and prep-best leap of 51-5 3/4. Then he finished sixth in the 2011 NCAA championship at 53-1 3/4. That’s close to the 16.30 meters (or 53-5
3/4) he needs to qualify for the U.S. championships, and Wilson is convinced he can get there if he gets his steps down.