Athletics: Donaldson now focuses on 200m

Sprinter Chris Donaldson has sent out an SOS for new track shoes after a tendon injury today forced him out of the Olympic Games 100m.

Donaldson, 25, withdrew from Friday's 100m on Wednesday afternoon, saying that would give him more time to recover for next week's 200m.

He quit the blue riband event after a 10-day battle with a painful achilles tendon injury in his left heel.

``Basically, time's run out in the 100m for me,'' he said. ``It's very, very tough for me, because it's one of the events I love to run, and the Olympic Games - I've worked so hard for that.''

He was confident he would be able to focus on the 200m, his preferred event. It begins next Wednesday.

A scan of the injury found pain was caused by inflammation around the tendon, but there was no damage to the tendon itself.

There had been immediate response to altered treatment, Donaldson said. There was no pain this morning, the first time in 10 days.

``I'm pretty optimistic (that) I'll be on the track tomorrow, building up some speed and getting ready for the 200m,'' he said.

In a move planned to ease strain on the tendon, Donaldson is to ditch his sprinter's spikes for the Games.

Adidas has been asked to send him middle distance track shoes, which have a higher heel lift. They were expected to arrive tomorrow.

It would take huge efforts from Donaldson to reach Olympic semifinals in either the 100m or 200m, even if fully fit.

He was eliminated in the first round of the Olympic 100m and 200m at the Atlanta Olympic Games.

In 1997, he made the 200m world championship semifinals, then the quarterfinals last year.

Meanwhile, high jumper Glenn Howard cleared 2.15m with ease off a full run-up last night. Howard has had a tendon problem in his take-off foot.

- NZPA