http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/athletics/story/2008/08/17/olympics-athletics-track.html
Canada’s Christopher makes early exit in 400m
Last Updated: Sunday, August 17, 2008 | 10:04 PM ET Comments1Recommend3
CBC Sports
Tyler Christopher of Chilliwack, B.C., finished a distant fifth in his heat and was eliminated from the men’s 400 metres at the Summer Olympics in Beijing on Monday morning.
Christopher, 24, posted a time of 45.67 seconds in a swift heat won by Britain’s Andrew Steele in 44.94.
“To be honest, everything was going really good up until I travelled over here and I ended up getting a really bad flu,” Christopher told CBC Sports.
“I just was able to train two days ago. I thought I was over it, but obviously it took a lot more energy out of me than I thought.”
Christopher, the world indoor champion, opened the season with an impressive 44.71, but he hasn’t run below 45 seconds since.
He set a Canadian record of 45.03 at the nationals.
Chris Brown of the Bahamas won a close heat in 44.79 over Australia’s Joel Milburn (44.80) and Sweden’s Johan Wissman (44.81).
Brown beat Christopher to win the event at last year’s Pan American Games, but Christopher returned the favour at the indoor worlds.
In the third heat at Beijing, Andretti Bain, Brown’s Bahamian teammate, qualified third in 45.96 behind Costa Rica’s Nery Brenes (45.36) and Nigeria’s Godday James (45.49).
Martyn Rooney of Britain took the fourth heat in 45 seconds flat, winning handily over Australia’s Sean Wroe (45.17) and Jamaica’s Ricardo Chambers (45.22).
Michael Johnson of the U.S. still owns the world record of 43.18 set at Seville, Spain, in 1999, and the Olympic mark of 43.49 set at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
