Injured hurdler Michelle Jenneke stuns with courageous Olympic effort

A day after her Olympic campaign appeared over due to a serious injury, the popular Aussie somehow donned the spikes once more.

Despite her dramatic fall and injury, Michelle Jenneke fronted up for the repechage. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

The smiling and dancing may be deceiving, Michelle Jenneke is as tough as they come.

Jenneke’s Olympic campaign is over, but not before the Aussie demonstrated her strength and resilience, racing Thursday’s 100m hurdle repechage despite revealing she’d ruptured her hamstring.

In her opening heat on Wednesday, Jenneke tripped over the third hurdle and crashed to the ground.

The 31-year-old managed to get to her feet and finish the race, giving her a chance of qualifying through the repechage.

She said she’d felt a pop when she fell, revealing after running 13.86 seconds in her repechage that she’d ruptured her hamstring.

Michelle Jenneke (right) all smiles embracing Jyothi Yarraji of India after the women's 100m hurdles repechage in Paris. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

“Honestly, firstly I’m really proud of myself,” Jenneke said.

“I ran today with one less hamstring than usual and obviously that was pretty difficult."

Competing at her second Olympics following Rio back in 2016, Jenneke didn’t want that fall to be her final memory from the Games, so she had a chat with the team doctor.

“I said to the doctor ‘can I still run (with the injury)?’” Jenneke said.

“I didn’t want my Olympic campaign to end the way it was yesterday and I really just wanted to give it my all today.

“I knew that making that semi-final and running under 13 seconds missing one of your hamstrings is probably pretty impossible.

A little off the pace in the repechage running with one less hamstring. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“But I wanted to prove to myself and the rest of Australia that I’ve got grit in me and I’m not going to give up easily.

“The general consensus was that it’s a full rupture so I can’t make that any worse, so provided I was still hurdling in a way that wasn’t jeopardising other parts of my body, if I wanted to race then I had the all-clear to do that.”

The veteran hurdler earned the moniker “jiggling Jenneke” due to her unusual habit of dancing before taking the starting blocks.

On Thursday, there was an outpouring of respect and amazement at her effort to compete despite the injury.

Athletics reporter Mitch Dyer wrote on X: “Pretty insane grit from Michelle Jenneke.”

Journalist Jem Nash tweeted: “Michelle Jenneke coming back and running the hurdles with a ruptured hamstring is absolutely insane. What incredible toughness.”

Jenneke’s fall in the heats. (Photo by Martin BERNETTI / AFP)

X account Velvet Dark wrote: “Props to Michelle Jenneke for being hardcore enough to go back and race for Australia with a destroyed hamstring. I’d be like CARRY ME HOME NOW.”

An account titled WA Dad wrote: “I’ve only watched 1/2 an hour of the Olympics here & there, but jeez Michelle Jenneke makes you proud to be an Australian.

“Ruptured a hamstring tendon when she fell yesterday, but saddled up again in the repechage anyway purely to compete for her country & did it all with a smile.

“Bloody magnificent effort.”