Highjump: Injury scare for Glenn Howard

High jumper Glenn Howard has cancelled his final pre-Olympic competition after hurting his takeoff foot.

Howard, who was yesterday wearing strapping on the foot, was not seriously hurt, coach Anne Stephens said.

Many athletes had similar problems as they eased out of heavy training before the Olympics, she said. "With the niggle he's got - I wouldn't even call it an injury really - it pays to be cautious."

Howard, 24, was to have competed in Sydney today.

A planned training session on the fast Mondo rubberised surface being used at the Olympics has also been axed.

Howard said he had "tweaked" the foot in a pre-Games competition in Queensland last weekend when he withdrew after clearing 2.20m.

"That day I was feeling really good, so it feels like it's coming right at the right time."

He said he needed a training break, so the foot problem had worked out "pretty well."

His best leap this year, of 2.30m, has the tall Aucklander ranked 16th-equal coming into the Olympics.

Howard, who has two screws and a surgical steel cable in his back to repair an injury, said a move to the athletes' village had not resulted in the pain that usually came when he changed beds.

But it did cause him some mental trauma as he tried to sort out if any of the lanky athletes he saw there were his rivals.

"Back home I usually tower over everyone, but over here 50 per cent of the guys tower over me - seven-footers and stuff. I'm sure some of them are high jumpers."

He felt that if he could reproduce his 2.30m jump he could "snatch" a medal, as the winds expected at Stadium Australia would hinder jumpers.

Howard has been in good recent form, eight times topping 2.20m - he did that only once last season - all on the first attempt.

"It's been pretty annoying that 2.20m has been the best height and I haven't got the next one. It [the bar] has wobbled and fallen off and that kind of thing, but it shows I've been in pretty good shape."

Howard was looking forward to jumping against his idol, Cuban world-record holder Javier Sotomayor, in front of a huge crowd that will include his family and girlfriend.

"You've just got to have faith in yourself that if you jump to the best of your ability, you'll beat most of them. Anne [Stephens] reckons I've got a 2.35m in me. I don't believe it yet. I definitely know there's more there, I just haven't hit it yet."

- NZPA