Ath: Pittman living a real-life miracle

AAP General News (Australia)
08-12-2004
Ath: Pittman living a real-life miracle

By Sharon Mathieson

VARESE, Italy, Aug 11 AAP - Jana Pittman believes she is living a miracle but even
miracles can be filled with frustration.

The world champion hurdler woke up with more pain than usual in her knee this morning
and there was little sign of improvement.

Team doctor Tim Barbour expects another 24 hours of much the same but there was hope
for a more dramatic improvement by Friday, when Pittman plans to hit the track for her
first light jog since undergoing surgery on Sunday.

In the meantime, it's long hours of icing and boring exercises for the Olympic hopeful
to be ready to clear the hurdles in Athens on August 21.

Pittman said the fact she had a chance to make the Olympics 13 days after knee surgery
was a miracle.

"It feels like a miracle because one day I'm not walking, the next day I'm almost running,"

she said.

But in reality, Pittman has a long way to go before she can even attempt to run, let
alone race at the Olympics.

The current plan is to make it onto the track by Friday, which will give a good indication
as to whether Pittman has any hope of running by the first round of Olympic qualifying.

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KEYWORD: OLY ATH AUST DAYLEAD

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