Wednesday, August 20, 2008 No pain for Torres; finishes 34th
Marestella Torres defied injury but could only finished 34th in a field of 41 in the qualification round of the women’s long jump for the 29th Olympic Games at the Birds Nest in Beijing.
The 27-year-old Torres, the undisputed long jump queen of the Southeast Asian Games suffered a left knee injury during her first jump, where she managed a poor 4:27 meters.
’’My right knee suddenly gave in upon takeoff. I forced myself to jump despite the pain,’’ said Torres, a native of San Jose,Negros Oriental.
Despite the pain, Torres bravely returned and went on to improve to 5.94, and then 6.17 meters in the third try, which is only good for 34th place. (Frank Calapre)
