Paolo Mottadelli (MOZ)

Talence Decastar: day after… injured!

My first time in Talence Decastar was not a lucky experience, indeed! Unfortunately I got injured during my second attempt in the long jump event, when I pushed on the board much more than my foot could tolerate, hurting my left heel.

I immediately felt some pain, but not so much, because my foot was warm.. The problem revealed after the Shot Put event, when, warming up for the High jump, I could not even lean my heel on the floor.

I tried to resist, in order to finish the first day and waiting for the next morning, so I cleared 1.74, 1.77 and 1.80 at the first attempt (it never happens :-), mumble mumble…) and stopped that event. Later I run the 400 and hoped…

… not well enough! Yesterday morning my heel conditions were even worse (as I expected, I admit) and I could not run 110 hurdles, neither do Pole Vault. The good thing is that I set my PB in Discus: 45.15 and did a good Javelin: 57.74.

The crowd was terrific here in Talence, and that is the reason why I would have loved to finish 1500 meters, together with such strong guys. So I started and struggled for 1000 meters, using 1 leg and a half, before not being able to go on :-).

It was a pity not to be able to set a decathlon PB here in such an amazing challenge but I am very happy to have been here. Hey: this meeting is really fantastic, the atmosphere is magic and French People are so fired for combined events!

The Decathlon was won by Andrej Kravchenko with 8553 points and the Heptathlon by Lyudmila Blonska with 6437 points. More to come about results….

I really hope to have my second chance, in no more that one year, to tell ‘merci beaucoup’ to French People with a great rocky decathlon!