Distin: My body just felt flat

PARIS, France:

It was far from the Olympic Games debut that national high jump record holder Lamara Distin dreamt of. A shock exit in the women’s high jump qualification round yesterday at the Stade De France was not just the frustration of nothing going right on the day but knowing that she is capable of so much more. Distin failed to clear 1.92 metres and her best height that day, 1.88m, was not good enough to make the top 12.

Distin needed two attempts to clear 1.83 and 1.88 to start her sequence and she said that her normal approach was not working at all throughout.

“From the approach I just felt something was wrong. My body just felt flat. And the approaches were not perfect. It wasn’t what I normally did and I just tried to give of my best,” Distin said.

Distin’s best this season was when she hit the 2.00m mark indoors earlier this year. While the demands of a long season may have come into play, Distin is making no excuses, although still grateful for the fact that she can add Olympian to her rċsumċ.

“That is also a part of it. I am just happy to be here. I was just going to go out there and give it my best and I did,” Distin said. However, it is the knowledge that Distin has shown what she is capable of for the last three years that made her early exit from the competition heartbreaking.

“It is just very daunting because I know my ability and I know I am supposed to be in that final and for me not to be in that final (is disappointing),” Distin said. “I have to be patient. I just have to believe in God because God took this away from me for a better moment. So I hope that is the plan.”

Daniel Wheeler