The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

btubbs@tribunemedia.net

A sports hernia will delay sprinter Anthonique Strachan's comeback and she will prepare to undergo surgery on Monday in Birmingham, Alabama.

Her coach Henry Rolle said after stopping to complete her 200 metres at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada in July, which forced her to skip the trip to Beijing, China for the 15th IAAF World Championships in August, Strachan was given some time off to recuperate.

But once she resumed training for the 2016 season and the trek towards the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Rolle said it was discovered that she was still in too much pain. So he took her to the doctors where she was given the proper diagnostic in Birmingham under the image machine.

"It takes about 5-8 weeks to recover, depending on the individual," Rolle said. "So we're confident that by the beginning of the year, she will be able to resume her training and get ready for the Olympics." 

A sports hernia is a strain or tear of any soft tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament) in the lower abdomen or groin area. Because different tissues may be affected and a traditional hernia may not exist, the medical community prefers the term "athletic pubalgia" to refer to this type of injury.

It's a similar injury that Rolle watched Jamaican long jumper/sprinter Elva Goulbourne recover from in 2003.

"She got the injury in the fall and she came back in 2004 and she broke the CAC record, the Jamaican record and she had one of the longest jumps in the world at 7. or 23-feet, 4-inches and she was a favourite to win a gold in Athens (at the Olympics in Greece in 2004)," Rolle said,

"But unfortunately right before the Olympics, she ended up tearing her minimus in her knee in a meet in Brussels. So I've been down this road before as far as this injury is concerned and knowing that one can come back from it. They are the same body type, so I expect her to be back in full strength and ready to run in May."

Strachan, 22, could not be reached for comments, but Rolle said she understands the nature of the sport and injuries and she's looking forward to getting the surgery so that she can resume her training and continue her athletic career.

The former Carifta standout and 2011 Austin Sealy winner as the most outstanding athlete while attending St Augustine's College, was a double gold medalist in the 2100 and 200m at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain in 2012 before she claimed the 200m gold and the 100m bronze medals at the Pan American Junior Championships in Miramar, Florida.

Now a full time athlete, who is enrolled in school in Auburn, Strachan has secured a silver in the 200m at the CAC Games in 2011 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico where she also ran on the women's 4 x 100m relay team that clinched a bronze. In 2012, Strachan was awarded the Female Rising Star Award at the IAAF's Athletes of the Year gala awards banquet in Barcelona, Spain.

However, she has yet to reach the next plateau, which is to win a medal, individually or as a member of a relay team, at either the IAAF World Championships or the Olympics. But Rolle said he expects that, after surgery, Strachan will be at full strength and get back on track to attaining those goals.