Drouin’s not done: Missing worlds for Achilles injury had a silver lining
TORONTO — Derek Drouin was back home in Toronto nursing an Achilles injury when the high jump event played out at the world championships last summer in London.
The Olympic and world gold medallist watched it on TV, and while it wasn’t pleasant, it proved a purpose.
“I had an easy time watching the entire competition — until the high jump, I struggled a little bit watching the high jump, especially because it wasn’t a very strong competition overall,” Drouin said. “But the nice thing about it is it showed me that I still miss this, and I don’t want that to happen again.”
The 27-year-old from Corunna, Ont., had been hoping to defend his world title, plus help carry a Canadian team in London that was already missing sprint star Andre De Grasse (hamstring injury). And after that? His competitive future was fuzzy.