With Michelle Jenneke already being eliminated from the Olympics today having failed to make it out of the first round we need someone new to turn our attention towards.
My suggestion is that with this sad development having taken place we now focus on Jenneke’s Australian teammate Ella Nelson.
Nelson competes in the 200m hurdles (Jenneke competes in the 100m and finished 37th) and she has moved on to the semi-finals of her event which takes place this evening. Nelson finished second in her heat and was the 11th fastest qualifier, which doesn’t sound all that great until you consider a couple of things. (1) Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell Brown, the gold medalist in the event in 2004 and 2008, didn’t even make the semis, and (2) Nelson tore her hamstring TWICE back in April.
“I am so happy just to have completed that race, I haven’t raced since April so coming in here I was super nervous. I had to really think about my race plan last night and go through the motions,” she said.
“I kind of forgot out there, I ran a bit scared so I am definitely going to improve on that for the semi. I think I could have won that heat.”
Not too shabby, all things considered, huh?
Here’s a look at some of what Johnson has been sharing to her Instagram account so you can become even better acquainted with her before tonight’s race…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BH5dfxigqqv/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHNx2MKAigH/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFuXat6CXtS/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAy4k1piXrS/
Related: Olympic Athletes Winning At Instagram