Big long jump scare

8:53am Monday 28th July 2008

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CHRIS Tomlinson faces an agonising wait for the results of an MRI scan before discovering whether he will be fit enough to compete in Beijing.

The Teesside long jumper had to be helped off the track at Crystal Palace on Saturday after his second attempt in the long jump when he appeared to injure himself.

The 26-year-old landed awkwardly and immediately clutched his right ankle.

With just two weeks until the Olympics, the timing of the injury could hardly be worse for Tomlinson.

“It’s very sore at the moment, I’m absolutely devastated,”

he said. “At the moment, I can’t even do a calf raise.”

But there was a positive initial diagnosis when the UK Athletics medical team assured him it was just a bad cramp.

Tomlinson hopes to return to training in a week or so. His form this season has been indifferent but he did take a silver medal at the world indoor championships in Valencia.

Olympic heptathlon gold medal favourite Kelly Sotherton defied medical advice to convincingly win the women’s four-event challenge.

She hurt her right abductor muscle on the opening day when a farcical situation saw the third barrier in the 100metres hurdles placed in the wrong position.

The 31-year-old survived the minor injury scare and produced world-class form at Crystal Palace and will now travel to the Beijing Olympics full of confidence.

The 2004 Olympic bronze medallist produced a huge long jump pb of 6.79m, but struggled when the hurdles race was re-run at the end of the meeting, ending fourth.

But she produced a solid shot effort of 14.36m and despite holding back, then managed second place over 200m with a time of 23.63seconds.

That saw Sotherton easily win the challenge and prize money of £5,000 (US dollars 10,000) with a score of 3964 points ahead of Gi-Gi Johnson and Laurien Hoos who had tallies of 3813 and 3621pts.

■ New Markse Harrier Lewis Gamble-Thompson, 20, showed his older rivals the way home when he won his club’s annual Victorian 10K yesterday.

Gamble-Thompson, who helped New Marske win the North-East road relay championship in February, headed a 150-string field clocked 33 mins 29 secs, beating clubmate Tom Danby by five seconds, with Billingham’s Andy Chadfield a further 15 seconds away in third place.

Nicola Kemp, of Loftus won the women’s race in 41 mins 12 secs, with New Marske Harrier Sharon Thornton 81 seconds away in second place.