February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Costin broke a toe and a bone in his back when the car he was driving collided head-on with a gasoline tanker near Porto Helios, a town in southern Greece.
Meanwhile, fellow walker Gillian O’Sullivan, the world record-holder at 5,000 meters, has withdrawn from the Games because of a hip injury.
And reports suggested that a knee injury would “likely” end discus thrower Nicky Sweeney’s Olympic dreams before his competition had even started. Later, though, it was announced that the injury would be assessed again on Thursday.
Costin’s car crash took place on a country road 400 miles from Athens.
His training partner, the Polish Olympic champion Robert Korzenowski, who arrived on the scene shortly afterward, said the Irishman was lucky to be alive.
Costin, the sole occupant of the car, had just left Korzenowski at his hotel following a training session.
His coach, Pierce O’Callaghan, said: “He had a compression fracture of his back, but it’s clear that it could have been an awful lot worse.”
The 27-year-old Costin, who finished 38th in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, hoped to build on improved recent performances and was aiming at a top-15 finish, despite suffering an injury earlier this year.
The Irish team spokesman said that the walker, who was being treated last night at a specialist hospital, will not compete in the Aug. 27 50-kilometer final. He was reported to be looking “very sick” when brought in on a stretcher.
O’Callaghan said it was a “devastating day” for Irish athletics.
“He had given his soul to the sport and was in the best shape. To be taken out of the Games at this stage is devastating news for both him and his family,” he said.
Costin’s parents and three sisters flew out last night to be at his bedside.
Meanwhile, Kerry native O’Sullivan, one of Ireland’s brightest prospects for gold, pulled out of next Monday’s 20-kilometer Olympic Walk Race.
In a statement yesterday, she said: “During the course of the last three months I have experienced an ongoing problem with my left hip area, which, unfortunately, has impeded my training program. To compete in these circumstances would not be true to myself, my team or the people of Ireland.”
“I am withdrawing from participating in the Games to focus on getting this injury resolved once and for all,” the walker added.
O’Callaghan, who acts as a spokesman for the Irish athletes generally, added: “She felt there was no real point in competing and ending up disqualified because of the injury.”
Aside from her 5,000 world record of 20 minutes 2.6 seconds, O’Sullivan, who was 10th in Sydney, also holds the world record for the 3,000 meters indoors (11 minutes 35.64 seconds).