South African Miler Van Deventer Struck By Car
A collision with a car broke his left knee cap.
A collision with a car broke his left knee cap.
By Riël Hauman. (c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
(13-May) — South African distance star Juan van Deventer will not be at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. Van Deventer was hit by a car while training on the road in Ruimsig, near Johannesburg, on Wednesday. The impact broke his left knee cap.
Van Deventer, who finished seventh in the 1500m final at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, was also prevented by injury from taking part in the World Championships in Berlin and last year’s Commonwealth Games.
Van Deventer’s knee was operated on today (Friday) and he will be out of action for at least two months.
The athlete was on a long training run when a motorist apparently lost control of his car, cut a corner and hit Van Deventer from the side.
“I haven’t had so much pain for a long time,” Van Deventer said.
He was supposed to run in the Diamond League meetings in Shanghai on Sunday and Eugene on June 4. Van Deventer, the South African record holder for 3000m, won the national 1500m title last month.