In Missouri, in a tune-up race for the Tokyo Olympics, Ricardo Estremera landed awkwardly on his right foot. He runs the 3,000-meter steeplechase, which originated in England, where runners jumped walls and crossed streams as they raced to the church one town over.
Estremera knew something was wrong, but he ran through it, pushing forward on adrenaline. After the race, during his cool-down, he could barely walk.
“The pain was unbearable,” he said.
He had strained his Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscle to the heel. If it tears, his running career will likely be over. Estremera, an assistant teaching professor of Spanish at Penn State Behrend, is 35. That’s retirement-home age for most Olympic-caliber runners.
So he took a break from training. He skipped the Olympic trials, hoping -- though there is no guarantee -- that his world ranking will still put him on Puerto Rico’s Olympic team.
The weeks ahead will be critical. If he does run, he might aggravate the injury. Or maybe he doesn’t. Maybe his body is so tuned to the track and the jumps and the water in the pit that he earns a spot on the Olympic team and finds himself flying once more to a race, this time in Tokyo, which is the only track that matters now.
A run through water
Olympic steeplechase is a race built on adjustments. It’s a track run, but each lap includes four hurdles and one water jump. Those obstacles disrupt the runners’ pace, particularly near the end of the race, which covers nearly two miles.