World Champion DeAnna Price Overcame Ankle Reconstruction To Compete At USATF Championships, But Will Pull Out of World Championships Due To COVID Illness
By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor
American record holder and reigning world champion in the women's hammer, Deanna Price, revealed on her Instagram account Saturday that she has withdrawn from the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Eugene.
Price recovered from off-season surgery just enough to compete June 23 at the USATF Championships, where she placed fourth with a season-best mark of 239-8 (73.07m).
Price's victory at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar gave the U.S. a rare opportunity to have four entries in the World Athletics Championships on July 15-24 at Hayward Field.
Price wrote that she woke up ill July 1 and tested positive for COVID-19.
From Price's Instagram:
Good afternoon friends, family, and teammates.
I have some bad news.
I am here to announce that I will not be participating /defending my title in the 2022 world championships in Eugene.
This year has been a rough one for Team PriceLambert. Total ankle reconstruction in august and hip labrum surgery in september.
But with hard work we went 73.07 at USAs placing fourth! We were excited about the next coming weeks to prep for worlds.
Unfortunately, July 1st I woke up with vomiting,  diarrhea, and 103 fever. What we were hoping for a 24hr stomach bug turned into DAYS of being extremely sick and sleeping by the Toilet.
It wasn’t till day 4 of my sickness that I lost my sense of smell, developed a cough, body aches and headache got worse. We took a test and discovered we got COVID.
By this time I was down 12lbs and still couldn’t eat anything other than chicken broth.
We kept our hopes up during this times and tried to stay mentally strong.
Luckily, I today is the first day I feel a step closer to normal. But still feel weak and drained, physically and mentally. I tried to throw to see where I was, and I was no where close to where I felt like I needed to be competitive on a world stage, even in a qualifying round.
It was a tough and heart breaking decision, but I felt like it was the right decision for myself both physically and mentally. I have only been able to train normally and pain free for 4 weeks leading up to USA’s, so every day of training hard counted. I don’t believe I would be able to bounce back by next week after how the illness affected me mixed with the limited training I’ve had this year
I want to wish Team USA and everyone else the best of luck starting next week at Worlds! Wish I would be there, but best believe I’ll be back and ready for next year!
I also want to thank all my sponsors, friends, and family for believing in me! We knew this year was going to be rough. I’m gonna let myself be devastated for a couple days and then realign my thoughts for the long run!
2023 World Championships and 2024 Olympics!
LETS HEAL UP AND GO!
