Just a bad day, says McLeod

PARIS, France:

Omar McLeod revealed after his Diamond League 110 metres hurdles race in Paris yesterday that he was not at his best physically when he faced the starter.

In the semi-final, McLeod clocked 13.13 seconds to win his heat, but come the final, he was not out to his usual fast start, and by mid-race, he lost his rhythm and finished seventh in 13.41.

McLeod appeared to be suffering from an injury after the race and rushed to the medical room.

"During warm-up, I felt cramps in both calves, but I still decided to report for the race as I thought it would have improved," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

"At the start, I felt it more, and the false start did not help the situation. I didn't feel it coming over the first hurdle, but after the second one, I felt it, and I tried to push but got no response," he added.

"I also collided with Sergey Shubenkov during the race, and this did not help the situation. The chilly conditions also did not help," he said.

The Olympic champion, who had expected to run close to the world record 12.80 in Paris, refused to see yesterday's race as a setback.

"It was just a bad day ... I am focused for the World Championships, and for the time being, I will just have to get some rest and continue training," he said.