The 91,000 seat capacity was almost filled in the national stadium this morning, with the 100m sprinting heats taking centre stage. There were no upsets early on as all the medal contenders cruised through to the second round. I was personally delighted to see London’s Tyrone Edgar qualify with the fastest time of 10.13. He will eventually be overtaken but he cruised the final 20m so I’m giving him a good chance of making the final.

The Jamaicans Usain Bolt, Frater and Powell were all in fine form running with a lot more composure and relaxation compared to their uptight American rivals. Gay looked slightly tense as did Darvis Patton. Walter Dix looked all over the place.

There was a worry for Powell after finishing his sprint though. He clutched his stomach leaving everyone to think he had picked up a stomach bug which are rife in Beijing at the moment. He had in fact picked up a slight abdominal strain and was seen receiving treatment on the physio table out next to the track. With Powell’s history of choking at big events and his complaints about all the recent blood tests, you have to wonder what an abdominal strain will do to his confidence. A simple injection will remove the pain but sprinters feed off self-confidence and ego so he won’t want any lingering doubts over the next couple of days.

Find out how to avoid injury with this stretching to avoid injury report

If you are going to have a strain though, the abdominals are probably more favourable than not. No rotation is required in the 100m nor compression as in the 110m hurdles. Compared to common hamstring, hip, thigh and groin strains an abdominal strain is a god-send. As long as it’s a grade one strain.

With grade one abdominal muscle strains the signs of injury are often not present until after the activity is over. There might be a sensation of cramp or tightness and a slight feeling of pain when the muscles are stretched or contracted. However performance shouldn’t be impaired too much.

Grade two strains are more immediately painful and sore to touch. Grade three strains can be agonising and signify a complete muscle tear. Powell’s looked like a grade one so with ice and stretching he should be ok. We’ll see how Powell holds up in the upcoming rounds and analyse the fast-twitch fibres of him and his team-mate Usain Bolt.

Find out how to avoid injury with this stretching to avoid injury report

Related links:

Understanding Biomechanics for Core Stability - Reduce risk of injury in training

The Risks of Overtraining - too much of a good thing?