{"id":11076,"date":"2016-08-17T11:13:50","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T11:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=11076"},"modified":"2016-08-17T11:16:43","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T11:16:43","slug":"australian-head-coach-craig-hilliard-defends-decision-to-let-kim-mickle-compete-in-rio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/rio-olympics\/australian-head-coach-craig-hilliard-defends-decision-to-let-kim-mickle-compete-in-rio.html","title":{"rendered":"Australian head coach Craig Hilliard defends decision to let Kim Mickle compete in Rio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian head coach Craig Hilliard defends decision to let Kim Mickle compete in Rio<\/span><\/h2>\n

Australian head coach Craig Hilliard defends decision to let Kim Mickle compete in Rio :<\/strong> AUSTRALIAN head coach Craig Hilliard has defended the decision to allow Kim Mickle to compete in Rio after the javelin star blew her shoulder apart for the second time in 12 months.<\/span><\/p>\n

In horrible scenes inside the Olympic Stadium, Mickle grabbed her right shoulder in agony just after she released her third throw in the qualifying round.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was immediately obvious the joint was dislocated and she wandered around the track desperate for assistance, which failed to come initially, before being escorted out of the stadium in tears and directly to hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe has dislocated her shoulder and it was after she released the javelin so it looks like it is the rear side of it,\u201d Hilliard said. \u201cWe know nothing else other than she has gone to hospital to have it put in place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mickle, 31, decided to hide the severity of a shoulder injury she suffered in the lead-up to last year\u2019s world championships in Beijing.<\/span><\/p>\n

That decision came back to haunt her as she hurt it again in the qualifying round and was required to have a shoulder reconstruction when she returned home to Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2013 world championships silver medallist faced a race against time to get to Rio given it was just 11 months post-surgery but convinced herself and the Australian medical staff at the team\u2019s pre-Olympic camp in Florida that she was fit enough to compete.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything had been ticked off,\u201d Hilliard said. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t have been taking risks given what occurred to her last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate because Kim did everything with her rehabilitation, she had MRI checks before she came away, she met all her fitness standards before she left and threw well in Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut once you have surgery on a shoulder it doesn\u2019t matter what sport you\u2019re in, the propensity for re-injuring is always high.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe knew the risk but it is horrible for her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mickle\u2019s teammate Kathryn Mitchell, who threw in the other qualifying group, saw her friend come through the call room as she was preparing to compete.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw her come through the call room holding her shoulder and it looked out of place,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt was a bit of a shock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe has done everything she can possibly do to get back for this competition, she has ticked every box in terms of her competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe had to leave it all out there on the track tonight, she had to go for it, it\u2019s the Olympic Games.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think she even knew what would happen but you have to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll bounce back, it\u2019s Kim Mickle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mitchell, who finished ninth in London four years ago, went on to qualify for the final, sneaking in last spot with a best throw of 61.63m.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect to qualify in that manner but it doesn\u2019t matter now, it\u2019s done I am in,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was the twelfth qualifier in London and I hope to finish better than ninth place that I did there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so relieved to get through, I think I deserve to be in the final as I have been in good shape.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI belong in there with those girls and now we will fight it out then.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:http:\/\/www.dailytelegraph.com.au\/sport\/olympics-2016\/australian-head-coach-craig–hilliard-defends-decision-to-let-kim-mickle-compete-in-rio\/news-story\/b8f39b13e506a2ff16661872c3888a28<\/span><\/p>\n

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