Eilish McColgan to miss whole season over ankle
It is the latest in a series of setbacks for the UK steeplechase champion who had to battle back from a foot fracture to snatch a place at the 2012 Olympics in London. However, the Dundonian has revealed that her ankle injury, sustained in January, has not healed as quickly as expected, forcing her to declare 2015 a total write-off.
“Initially, we believed this injury would be a small blip in the road meaning six weeks off from running,” McColgan, 24, said. “However, that prognosis gradually worsened, week on week. Six became ten which became fourteen. Sadly, the fracture has fully extended. The area of the ankle I have broken is a particularly problematic area to heal as there is very little blood flow. In my case the break has struggled to heal fully.”
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Hide AdWith surgery still a possibility, it leaves McColgan in a race against time to get ready for next year’s Olympics in Rio. And it may require her to ditch the steeplechase completely in an attempt to get her career back on track.
“Rio 2016 will come round before any of us realise and at the end of the day the Olympic Games is the pinnacle,” she said, writing in her blog for sponsors Lindsay’s. “All the hard work, dedication, and sacrifices are purely for the Olympics. Every athlete wants to be a part of it.
“My event choice is still under question – perhaps a move to the 5000m or 10,000m will be more feasible after foot surgery, rather than risking injury over the steeplechase in such an important year.”
Meanwhile, Jessica Ennis-Hill has announced she will compete in the 100 metres hurdles and the shot put at the Sainsbury’s Birmingham Grand Prix on 7 June. The Olympic champion will compete in her first heptathlon since winning gold at London 2012 the previous weekend in Gotzis, Austria.