EUGENE, Ore. - The United States Track and Field Olympic Trials, Eugene's Historic Hayward Field, the men's 400 hurdles: This was Jeshua Anderson's chance for a big comeback.
Unfortunately, it was too early.
A nagging hamstring injury ultimately curtailed Anderson's chances of qualifying for the London Olympic Games, bringing his 2012 Olympic dreams to an end.
Anderson, the 2011 U.S. Outdoor intermediate hurdles champion and NCAA men's outdoor track and field champion, ran a semi-finals time of 53.15 seconds, the 16th and last time of the two heats.
Anderson had advanced to the men's 400m hurdles semi-finals after finishing third in the fourth qualifying heat, running a time of 50.49 which was ninth-best in the qualifying round. His lifetime-best time of 47.93 was run at Hayward Field at the 2011 US Outdoor Championships.
This spring, Anderson suffered a hamstring injury which sidelined the promising track star for two months. He said training for the U.S. Trials was a mental and physical "roller coaster."
"I know that I'm hurt, I know that I wasn't as well as prepared as most people were from the injury," Anderson said. "It's a disappointment for sure not being able to compete and make this team the way I would like to - healthy - but I look forward to next year."
At this point , Anderson said he plans to work on getting stronger and healthier before he races again.
"It's smarter to get it taken care of now and be ready to go next year and have the year of my life," he said.
Anderson said he's got his eyes on next year's World Championships.
