Links of the day--Taiwo winning Pac-10 decathlon with torn ligament, & Peterson's revival at UW...
A few days after winning the Pac-10 title with a score of 7742 points, University of Washington team doctors told him that that he has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, and will need Tommy John surgery.
Turns out that he hurt the elbow at last month's Mt. SAC Relays decathlon in Azusa while throwing the javelin, and while warming up in Tuscon, the elbow hurt to the point that he threw with his left hand.
"The idea came from me just knowing I had to do what I had to do to score," he said. "I mean, I might as well. It's better than no points in the event."
You can read Gregg Bell's story here.
One of the brightest stories on the Washington track team is the development of former state prep champ Amanda Peterson, who quit the sport last year, and moved home after one season at Eastern Washington University.
Upon her return to Gig Harbor, she discovered that she had repeatedly pushed herself past her body’s capacity to recover. It created a physical condition – Overtraining Syndrome – that endangered her health and threatened to end her athletic career.
With medical help, along with a new perspective on sport and life, she has flourished at Washington, breaking the UW school record at the Pepsi Team Invitational with a toss of 174-2, a mark 20 feet farther than her best at Eastern.
Dave Boling's column from the Tacoma News-Tribune can be read here.
paulmerca.blogspot.com is on our way to Tuscon to cover the Pac-10 Championships.
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