American sprinter: Manteo Mitchell

Manteo Mitchell is an American sprinter and bobsledder. As a sprinter, he competed in the 200m, 400m and 1,600 meters relay (4x400m).

At the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, the accident happened. 

Mitchell heard sounds of break. He felt the pain and he just wanted to lie down.

Unfortunately, he broke his leg during the semifinal round of the men’s Olympic 4x400 meter relay on 9 September. He broke his lower left leg bone, the fibula. Despite his bone was broken, he kept on running. He said, “It felt like somebody just snapped my leg in half.”

Mitchell looked back. He had slipped on the stairs a few days earlier, but he hadn’t had it checked out. He felt fine and didn't think much of it. 

One of the sports doctors said, “He had enough adrenaline and endorphins to be able to keep running. He was feeling a lot less pain at that moment. If it’s a short distance and a high-level athlete, even with a broken fibula, someone can finish the race.” 

In addition, the doctor said, “He had broken his femur, it would been nearly impossible for him to finish the race. He was lucky it was the fibula.”

Mitchell ended with a broken leg in 46.1 seconds. The U.S. team qualified for the finals and finished in the fastest time in the first round of the relay at the Olympics. On Friday, the U.S. team went on to win a silver medal, but the U.S. team has been stripped of the silver medal. The decision comes due to the doping case of one of the members of the team.