LaShawn Remains Confident After Catching Cramp in Monaco
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Sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry.
That's what LaShawn Merritt decided on Friday in Monaco when he pulled out of the 400-meter sprint at the Samsung Diamond League Herculis meet just before it hit the homestretch.
"The aim of the season is the Olympic Games, so I decided to stop," he said. "I'd hoped to do a good time here but I'll continue working to be ready for London."
LaShawn was getting ready to make a final push in his last warmup race for the Olympics when he felt a little twinge in his hamstring. He thought briefly about continuing on, but with the Olympics so close he decided it would be wiser to let this one go and get healthy for London instead.
"I was like ‘you know what? Let me stop this race.' I was about to move, I was feeling good," he said. "I went to cycle again and I felt it kind of shake. It was like a cramp almost. It feels kind of tight, it feels like after a cramp. After you have a cramp you have that soreness, but the fact that I can [flex the leg] is reassuring."
LaShawn said afterward that his only disappointment came in the fact that he couldn't race a loaded field that included Kirani James, Jeremy Wariner, Luguelin Santon, Martyn Rooney, Kevin Borlee and eventual winner Jonathan Borlee.
"This was a great field. I was curious how this would turn out, not with myself but the rest of the field. I'm feeling confident, I'll get this looked at, get ready for London," he said. "We have a great medical staff at USA Track and Field."
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