Decathlete injured

A TEENAGER from Wargrave who was competing in the decathlon at the European Athletics Under 20 Championships had to pull out due to injury. 

Sammy Ball, 18, of Victoria Road, went into the competition in Jerusalem with the leading score in the world. He withdrew after the high jump on the first day after pulling a hamstring. 

Sammy said: “During my preparation I suffered a slight hamstring injury. This occurred one week before flying to Israel. I decided to stop training for the days leading into competition in the hope that it would be fine on the day.

“Athough I had doubts in my head, I was still hopeful as my preparation had been great before this freak injury. Unfortunately, in the first event, the 100m, I felt the pain I feared may occur. After making it through the long jump (by jumping off the opposite leg) and the shot and high jump, I decided to end my competition as the strain on my hamstring had significantly increased.

“It was a great standard of competition and I would have loved to have had a better opportunity to compete against the rest of the field.

“I met some amazing people and am grateful to the GB coaches, team managers and physiostherapists for all their support.

“I am gutted with how this competition played out. Unfortunately injuries are a big setback in sport and the timing of them can be brutal. My main focus now is about coming back stronger and fitter as a senior athlete next year.”