The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has confirmed that Benjamin ‘Benji’ Richardson has withdrawn from the 200m at the Paris Olympic Games completely following the injury he had sustained in the first round of the event on Monday August 5.
Richardson was part of the third heat in the first round of the 200m event, and going into the race he was being touted as a serious contender for South Africa.
He started the 200m race strongly, quickly sprinting into the lead and leading the charge at the final bend before the last 100m of the race.
But as Richardson took the corner, he suddenly pulled up, seemingly clutching his right hamstring. He hobbled his way to the finish line, finishing his race, ensuring he could still have a crack at qualifying for the 200m semi-finals via the repechage heats on Tuesday.
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However, Sascoc has since confirmed that Richardson has withdrawn from the repechage heats. “He is being monitored to determine the extent of an injury that forced him to pull up in Monday’s 200m first-round heats,” said Sascoc’s media attaché, Bronwyn Roets.
Richardson has previously had a go at the 100m event, but he narrowly missed out on a spot in the final as he finished third in the third semi-final of the event.
There is still hope for the born-and-raised Mbombela sprinter, though, as he has time until Thursday August 8 to recover enough to compete in the first round of 4x100m relay, where he will play a pivotal role in SA’s medal hopes should he compete.
