http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=163022&sc=99
Olympic medal hopeful Tyler Christopher fails to advance in 400 metres
Olympic medal hopeful Tyler Christopher fails to advance in 400 metres
The Canadian Press
BEIJING — Tyler Christopher’s quest for an Olympic medal has come to an end.
The 24-year-old sprinter from Chilliwack, B.C., was eliminated in the heats of the 400 metres at the Beijing Games on Monday, finishing fifth in his heat in 45.67 seconds.
“Disappointed? That’s a bit of an understatement,” Christopher said after the race. “Disappointment would be not making it to the final. Not making it out of the heats, that’s just ridiculous.”
Christopher arrived in Beijing ranked sixth in the world, and captured gold at the world indoor championships in March in Valencia, Spain. He was touted as one of Canada’s top hopes for a medal on track in Beijing.
But he said he came down with a flu bug at the Canadian team’s training camp in Singapore, and didn’t manage to shake it until a couple of days ago.
“I couldn’t really get out of my bed until two days ago,” Christopher said. “I thought I was over it, but it seems like it still has taken a lot out of my body.”
The six-foot-one runner looked sluggish from the gun, and never managed to make up any ground on the field.
“It basically felt like half my speed was missing,” said Christopher, who set his Canadian record of 44.44 in winning bronze at the 2005 world championships. “I got to one slow constant speed, couldn’t pick it up from there.”
Andrew Steele of Great Britain won the heat in 44.94, while Chris Brown of the Bahamas ran 44.79 for the fastest time on the morning.
American favourite Jeremy Wariner cruised to a time of 45.23. BEIJING — Tyler Christopher’s quest for an Olympic medal has come to an end.
The 24-year-old sprinter from Chilliwack, B.C., was eliminated in the heats of the 400 metres at the Beijing Games on Monday, finishing fifth in his heat in 45.67 seconds.
“Disappointed? That’s a bit of an understatement,” Christopher said after the race. “Disappointment would be not making it to the final. Not making it out of the heats, that’s just ridiculous.”
Christopher arrived in Beijing ranked sixth in the world, and captured gold at the world indoor championships in March in Valencia, Spain. He was touted as one of Canada’s top hopes for a medal on track in Beijing.
But he said he came down with a flu bug at the Canadian team’s training camp in Singapore, and didn’t manage to shake it until a couple of days ago.
“I couldn’t really get out of my bed until two days ago,” Christopher said. “I thought I was over it, but it seems like it still has taken a lot out of my body.”
The six-foot-one runner looked sluggish from the gun, and never managed to make up any ground on the field.
“It basically felt like half my speed was missing,” said Christopher, who set his Canadian record of 44.44 in winning bronze at the 2005 world championships. “I got to one slow constant speed, couldn’t pick it up from there.”
Andrew Steele of Great Britain won the heat in 44.94, while Chris Brown of the Bahamas ran 44.79 for the fastest time on the morning.
