06/07/12
Dakotah Keys’ season ended a bit prematurely Friday after the fourth event of the decathlon, the high jump, when an injured left ankle that had been bothering him for two months finally gave out and he withdrew from the Olympic Track and Field Trials.
Keys wasn’t available to speak about the trials Monday but his mother, Lela Danforth, said the ankle had been bothering him since his first-ever decathlon competition, in April in Santa Barbara, Calif. and had gotten worse during the NCAA Championships, where he finished 16th after winning the PAC-12 title as a redshirt freshman.
“It’s very disappointing,” said Danforth, who has been one of her son’s coaches over the years as he moved through the junior ranks to college. “It barely held together for the NCAAs and he was hoping he would be able to do another meet.”
After running the first of the 10 events, the 100 meters in 11.37, Keys fouled his first long jump attempt, then leaped 22-4½ before fouling again, which left him “limping pretty bad,” Danforth said.
Keys plants with his left foot in most events, she said.
Keys threw the shot 41-10½ on his first attempt, but was unable to do better in his next two tries.
He then fouled twice at 6-0½, the opening height in the high jump, before clearing that, but was unable to walk away.
“He wanted to clear a height,” Danforth said, adding that doctors were unsure early this week what the problem is. “The doctor said it could be a stress fracture or a bad sprain. He didn’t know.”
Coaches decided Keys should withdraw at that point, she said, to avoid risking more serious injury.
Keys had 2,865 points through the four events, which had him in 17th place among the 18 competitors.
Ashton Eaton, the former Duck who grew up in Bend, set a world record Saturday, finishing with 9,039 points.
Danforth said it was a “blessing” for Keys to get into the meet, as one of the final qualifiers.
“This was a lifetime goal for Dakotah, as far as track and field is concerned, to qualify for that and he did,” she said. “He sacrificed a lot to get into that arena and he deserved to be in that arena. It was a bummer, but I’m extremely proud of him. He’s an amazing competitor. He’ll be stronger because of this.
“We don’t know why some things happen, but he’ll lean on the Lord like he has in difficult times in the past.”