Korean sprinter Joel Jin Nwamadi pulls out of preliminary race due to leg cramps

Korean sprinter Joel Jin Nwamadi failed to finish the preliminary race in the men’s 200-meter event at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya on Saturday due to leg cramps.

Nwamadi pulled up lame during the heats for the men’s 200-meter at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan. The race took place just before noon on Saturday for the 20-year-old, who had finished fourth in the 100-meter final at around 10:30 p.m. on Friday.

“After the 100-meter final, he had to wait until the early hours of Saturday for a doping test,” a representative of the Korea Association of Athletics Federations said. “Then he had to come back out this morning for the 200 meters, and that might have caused the cramps. He gave up on the race because he could have risked a bigger injury if he had pushed further.”

The representative added that Nwamadi was receiving treatment and would try to be ready for relays.

Born in Seoul to a Nigerian father and Korean mother, Nwamadi is set to compete in the men’s 4x100-meter relay, with heats on Sunday night and the final on Monday night, and in the mixed 4x100-meter relay, with heats on Monday evening and the final on Tuesday night.

Yonhap