World Athletics Championships: Aussie long jumper Henry Frayne confident of getting among medals in Doha
Henry Frayne has done his hamstring so many times he has lost count, so he knows how to perform off a limited preparation — which he will have to do again to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.
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For AFL and NRL players doing a hamstring two or three times puts them on the chronic list with a reputation that can end up curtailing careers.
Long-jumper Henry Frayne has done his hammy — and other muscle tears in his legs — more than 30 times.
“I’ve lost count,” Frayne admits on the eve of the Doha world championships. “Across all muscles 30-plus and it depends on what were diagnosed.
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“It got to a point where I know what I’ve done and I know to rehab it, so there’s no need to get an MRI.
“It could be more than 30. I’ve got an impressive stack of MRI scans in my room between my desk and the wall.”
Despite these extraordinary number of setbacks, Frayne has never lost his self-belief, which is why he’s still ranked as the one of the world’s best jumpers.
“It’s going to happen for sure in the long and triple jump but it’s unique to me as well; just the way my body is,” Frayne says.
“You can get stuck in a cycle of injuries which is another component of it because of the way the sport works.
“You get one injury but you’ve got to keep your sponsors happy, if you want to stay on national funding you’ve got to compete so you often chase your tail to get up quicker and make you hit the KPIs, then you don’t get to rehab things properly.
“And as a competitor you’re always pushing on the edge so you do something else. It’s a vicious cycle.”
The 29-year-old comes to Doha off a limited preparation — again thanks to a hamstring tear — but has proven in the past it’s a formula that he can still make work.
It was a similar story when he won silver at the world indoors back in 2012 and did it again on home soil at last year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Frayne finished second behind gun South African Luvo Manyonga, smashing his PB with 8.34m and backing it up with 8.33m a day later in the final.
Originally published as World Athletics Championships: Aussie long jumper Henry Frayne confident of getting among medals in Doha