Steffensen struggling

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http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/beijing_olympics/story/0,27313,24068679-5014104,00.html

John Steffensen’s Olympic dream fading after poor Stockholm showing
July 24, 2008 03:00am

JOHN Steffensen is hanging on to his Olympic dream by a thread after clocking the slowest 400m final of his adult life in the Stockholm grand prix yesterday.

In the aftermath of world titleholders Jana Rawlinson and Nathan Deakes’ Beijing withdrawals, Steffensen’s form is another blow for Australia’s Olympic track and field team.

Following emergency appendix surgery on May 3, the luckless Commonwealth champion has revealed he tore a hamstring muscle a fortnight ago and is now on the verge of withdrawing from the Beijing team.

In an era of hardship for the Australian track team, flamboyant Steffensen emerged as a hero from the Melbourne Commonwealth Games two years ago when he delivered gold in both the individual 400m and the long relay.

He was revealed as that most endearing of Aussie characters – a lair, but a bloody good one; a motormouth who predicted what he was going to do and then went out and delivered on his promise, even to the extent of moving to the US to find the right coach.

But it must have been lonely in Stockholm yesterday when Steffensen, 25, from Sydney, clocked 47.15sec for sixth place in the B-race. He finished far behind Melbourne’s Sean Wroe, 23, who won in a personal best 45.20.

Joel Milburn, 22, the national titleholder from the Blue Mountains, who recently became only the seventh Australian to break 45sec with his 44.99 win in Lucerne, ran a cautious sixth in the A-race in 45.49 won by US Olympic titleholder Jeremy Wariner (44.29).

“I tore my hamstring two weeks ago,” Steffensen told The Daily Telegraph after the meet. “I’ve been in Germany trying to get it fixed.” Even if Steffensen continues to Beijing, it seems unlikely he will be able to reproduce the form which saw him help the “Silver Bullets” win silver in the 4x400m relay in Athens in 2004.

[b]"I’ve still got Monaco (the Herculis super grand prix, July 29). I want to finish what I started, just do the best I can.

"I haven’t really trained on it, so I was a bit tentative tonight feeling nerve pain, but when you line up for a race you declare yourself fit.

“There are five guys depending on me (in the relay). I don’t want to let them down. Monaco has given me one more roll of the dice. I’ll do the best I can. Anything can happen.” [/b]
Meanwhile, Australian 100m record holder Patrick Johnson last night failed in his final appeal against non-selection for Beijing.

Johnson, 35, was unsuccessful in an appeal in Melbourne to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, his manager Clive Stephens said.

A CAS tribunal has ruled that an Athletics Australia tribunal which upheld his original non-selection had not been wrong in law.

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What did Patrick think was going to happen? I hope he didn’t rest his case on “Athletics Australia not selecting me was illegal”, 'cos legally that’s so obviously a piss-poor argument to try and make.

Too bad about Steffensen, but that’s the nature of our sport. As they’d say in Serbia: jebiga.

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Steffenson improved from a couple of days ago:

Pos Athlete Nat Mark Pts
1 Martyn Rooney GBR 44.72 20
2 Ricardo Chambers JAM 44.90 16
3 Leslie Djhone FRA 44.95 14
4 Johan Wissman SWE 45.65 12
5 Andretti Bain BAH 45.85 10
6 Brice Panel FRA 46.07 8
7 John Steffensen AUS 46.20 6
Arismendy Peguero DOM DNS

I think for the individual, he wont get down to mid 44s which is probably what would be required to secure place in final (or at least close to his pb of 44.7).
BUT, if he can get into the mid to low 45s, the aussie relay team is looking that much better with low 45s runners (Milburn: 44.99, Wroe: 45.2 and Steffenson) Should be great!

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“I tore my hamstring two weeks ago,” Steffensen told The Daily Telegraph after the meet.

Yeah, you tear it then you fix it, like in 2 weeks, and go on to run mid 46s. :slight_smile: He is full of it.

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I have … MRI showed a tear and there was internal bleeding which showed through the skin. But when you have physio’s and doctors at hand and you’re in a position to do 8-10 hours a day of rehab you can get the job done.

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Dazed,

and you’re in a position to do 8-10 hours a day of rehab

You are right but does he look like 8-10h a day rehab guy? I do not know the facts about his current condition but I do know he has been under-performing for some time, and generally he is full of it. But then again, it is just my opinion.

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[QUOTE=Sevastocrator]
You are right but does he look like 8-10h a day rehab guy? [QUOTE]

Quite an assumption to assume that he isnt. You would imagine though, that with the olympics less than 2 weeks away, you would do whatever possible to ensure you are at the start line

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I’ve known John pretty well for 6 years, and yeah he is that kind of guy. He’s a hard worker and highly ambitious.

As for his current condition. The poor form this season can largely be put down to a ruptured appendix, which you’ll probably agree is a pretty legit excuse.

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I’m neither a big fan of John’s nor am I one of those who wants to see him fail. I guess I sit on the fence with him. So I’m not fussed how he goes in the individual event.

BUT I desperately want him to be in some sort of shape for the relay. He is vital to any medal chance.

Given his recent form, I think he’d be better off scratching from the individual event and give himself the extra days to get as right as he can for the relay.

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Youngy, could not have agreed more with you.

As for appendix, one of the pro runners had the same problem this season and he was back to his best form after 6-8 weeks.

All I want to say is - there is no need for excuses. If he isn’t ready just say it or do not say anything. No one is going to feel sorry for the guy if he keeps giving the reasons for his lack of performance.

Keep quiet, rehab as soon as possible, train consistently and when matters perform well. That’s all that matters. Bitchy excuses disgust everyone. (not sayin’ that he has been givin’ any :slight_smile: )

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Having just watched Steffensons run in Monaco, i must admit he is going to struggle, BUT, also, his technique appears to have changed a bit. he appears to be leaning forward - noticeable when running down the back straight.
Could this be due to hammy? Or could it actually have been a cause of the hammy?

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You’re full of it this time. There are tons of examples of short recoveries (as I point out, 10days at most for gr 1 or 2 strains.
You need to find new physios.

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I admit I am skeptical too having pulled a hamstring before. It seemed to catch while I was running for a long time. And if you take into account the average amount of time a pro athlete is generally out for a hamstring tear it’s almost always past a 15 day DL. Anyone crazy enough to follow pro injuries should know!

With that being said. I recently hurt my back. A doctor told me it was herniated and never to return to track again. A month later it still hurts. I look in my basement for my old Apha-Stim 100.

http://www.alpha-stim.com/

http://www.alpha-stim.com/as100.html

http://www.alpha-stim.com/research.html

http://www.alpha-stim.com/results.html

http://www.alpha-stim.com/endorsements/pain_endorsements.html

One application of this instrument and my back was 100% healed. Maybe it was a misdiagnosis. Maybe not. Keep in mind I was resting. Believe what you will. I still wonder ,though, if it’s possible to heal a complete tear in just two weeks. Or if it was just misdiagnosed in the first place. It seems way to fast for a hamstring to heal. Way to fast. I guess as my above example illustrates, however, nothing is impossible.

More free info from the guy from Boston.

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There are tons of examples of short recoveries (as I point out, 10days at most for gr 1 or 2 strains.

The point is not whether there are tons of examples of short recovery or not. I can also find tons of literature that will show that 1st -2nd degree strains take longer to recover/heal than 10 days.

I would tend to think that it depends on the degree of the tear as well as the individual (how quick one can heal). However, John certainly had enough time to recover yet he has not shown much of form this year. Hammy or something else, does not really matter, he has not been performing to his best for a long long time now. As I said, he should not have tried to pin it to an injury or other excuse. The fact is - he is not ready. I find it hard to believe that his current form is closely related to the two mentioned issues he had. Of course it played its role to certain degree. There must be some other issues with him that he has not been telling. That’s all.

I would have liked to see him peaking at the games, do not get me wrong, but it is too late now.

On the other hand, please read this and ask yourself has John done everything he could?

After a hamstring injury ruined her domestic season, after a so-so return from a brief trip to Europe, McLellan has blossomed from a possible finalist to a possible medallist, maybe even winner, in the past month in Europe. Twice she has broken the national record, she led the Beijing favourite and year’s fastest, Lolo Jones of the US, off the final hurdle in London, and lost narrowly to another Beijing favourite Brigitte Foster-Hylton of Jamaica in her last race in Monaco.

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Steffensen went to Germany to see some medical guru there and I’m sure that would have helped his injury. I spoke to him and he’s philosophical about the Olympics and his career to date, adding: “Changing coach twice, then having appendix surgery and a hammy injury in the same season isn’t sexy!” I had to laugh. But he still has a lot to offer that Aussie relay and hopefully (presumably) that’s where his focus is now, but the individual 400 looks like mission impossible at the moment.

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Thanks for the update kk1.

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Prob went to Wolfhart- that’s where all the people in the know go when they need help in Europe. Dr W has a prooven track record of good work.

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Steffensen pulls out of 400m
Len Johnson | August 6, 2008 - 3:14PM

John Steffensen is out of the invidual 400m at the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games champion acknowledging that he has lost a race against time to return to top form for Beijing.

But Steffensen will remain in the 4 x 400m relay squad, which he said in Hong Kong on Wednesday was a strong medal chance.

Steffensen said an Olympic year of controversy - two hamstring tears, two changes of coach, surgery to remove his appendix and disputes with Athletics Australia over his participation in the domestic season and then over a public argument with one of the national selectors - had “not been the best preparation.”

“Those things were all my choices,” Steffensen said at the Olympic training camp. “They were not great choices.”

Steffensen said the injuries had not let him get back to top shape to contest the individual event, in which Australia will now be represented by national champion Joel Milburn and Sean Wroe.

“Every time I’ve gotten better this year, something else has happened,” said Steffensen.

The heats of the individual 400m are on Monday, August 18 with the relay heats not until Friday, August 22.

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This is how he should conduct himself! Well done!

“Those things were all my choices,” Steffensen said at the Olympic training camp. “They were not great choices.”

After this he has scored a big + in my book. Good on ya John!

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agree 100%.