The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

LONDON, England — One could hardly help but to sympathise with Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands when he went down with a right knee injury in the men’s triple jump final on Thursday night.

It was painfully replayed over and over again on the two big television screens in the National Stadium that if you missed it, it brought back some hurtful memories every time they played it.

Team Bahamas’ women’s 4 x 100 metre relay team was preparing to enter the track for their heats. But they tried not to let it distract them too much from their ultimate goal of trying to qualify for tonight’s final.

“I saw it when I was walking back to the finish line,” said veteran sprinter Chandra Sturrup, who ran the second leg on the team that had just finished fifth in a season’s best of 43.07 seconds that fell just shy of one spot of getting into the final.

“I was hoping that he had jumped a good one. Then I saw his knee gave out on him. It looks like his knee is hyper-extended. But I hope that it isn’t as serious as it looks. I hope they can put it back in place so he can compete again.”

As a senior member of the team, Sturrup said they were looking forward to Sands coming through with what could have possibly been Team Bahamas’ first medal at these 2012 Olympic Games. But things happen in track and field. It’s not guaranteed every time you step on the track. You have to be prepared.”

Christine Amertil, another veteran member of the team, said she saw the replay as she was entering the stadium and she immediately felt it in her heart.

“I could see the knee and bone and it looked so bad,” she said. “I could see the look on his face because Leevan was so ready and so prepared for this jump and there he was sitting in the pit. You can’t believe that it happened to him because we are all so very close. I hope it’s not anything that will keep him out for a long time.’

And as a training partner of Sands in Auburn, under coach Henry Rolle, Sheniqua Ferguson said she was shocked.

“When we were walking in the stadium, I saw where he was in fourth, then after the race, he was in fifth and they showed the replay of what happened,” she said. “Leevan was such a competitor and so I know he was going to go out there and jump something really big.

“I didn’t know what happened at the time until I saw the replay. I really don’t know what happened, but it was so sad. This is the sport of track and field, but you pray that nothing happens. For something like that to happen is so sad. He was very determined to come here to get that medal and represent himself, his family and the Bahamas.”

And Anthonique Strachan, who won double sprint titles at the IAAF World Championships in Barcelona, Spain in July, said when she saw it on the screen, she really felt it for him because he was jumping very good.

“He looked like he was going to have a very big jump. But when he jumped, it looked like it just snapped out of place,” she said. “It looked really painful, but I hope it’s not as painful and extended as we think it is because he’s put a lot of effort into preparing to compete here.”

Members of the women’s relay team all wished Sands a speedy recovery.