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Dec-7-2013
Injury Forces Abdirahman Out of Honolulu Marathon
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
HONOLULU (07-Dec) -- Four-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman has been forced to
withdraw from tomorrow's 41st Honolulu Marathon with a knee injury, he
revealed here today. The tendon on the outside of his left knee is visibly
swollen, and Abdirahman, 36, has been unable to run since Wednesday, despite
resting his leg and receiving treatment here.
"When I got in from the airport on Wednesday I felt a little tight and I was
going to go for a little jog," Abdirahman told Race Results Weekly in a
brief interview. "My I.T. (iliotibial) band was bothering me and I was
saying, you know, it's going to get better in a couple of days, get
treatment, get massage, ibuprofen."
But the treatment didn't help, he said, including a trip to a local
chiropractor yesterday. He said running even very short distances is
impossible because of the discomfort.
"Never mind 26 miles," he lamented. "It's going to be hard for me to run one
mile." He continued: "I'm having a hard time jogging."
Abdirahman was the top American entered in the field here, which boasts top
Kenyans like three-time London Marathon champion Martin Lel --who is trying
to rebound from dropping out of the New York City Marathon last Month-- and
two-time Honolulu Marathon winner Nicholas Chelimo. Abdirahman, who has a
personal best of 2:08:56 set in Chicago in 2006, said that he hopes the
injury clears up soon and he can return to serious competition in January,
including the USA Half-Marathon Championships in Houston on January 19.
"To be honest, I just talked to Jean-Paul, my physio, and he said that it
could be something that you could knock out in three days," he said. He
added: "I'm just hoping that it's not serious, and that it will be done by
the next week or two."
Like his Olympic teammate Ryan Hall, Abdirahman hasn't completed a marathon
since finishing third at the USA Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston in
January, 2012. He dropped out of the London Olympic Marathon citing leg
pain. He told Race Results Weekly here that he had done excellent training
for Honolulu, and having to pull out was a very difficult decision.
"That's sports," said the usually easy-going athlete. "Sometimes things
come up when you least expect it."
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