The Bruins suffered two major blows this week, losing a pair of
All-Americans for the rest of the season in junior sprinter Brandon
Johnson and senior distance runner Erik Emilsson. Johnson, one of
the top contenders for the 400-meter hurdles NCAA national title,
suffered a hamstring injury nearly two months ago at the Rafer
Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational during the last leg of
the 4×400-meter relay. The injury has yet to fully heal, prompting
the Bruin coaching staff to end his season prematurely. Though the
coaches were optimistic that Johnson would be able to return in
time for this weekend’s Western Regional Championships, the
severity of the injury coupled with the lack of adequate training
for Johnson lead to their decision to shut the junior down for the
remainder of the year. “We got to the point where the meet
was coming up and he just was not ready yet,” coach Art
Venegas said. “We were hoping that he would be able to come
back, but he went through some test runs, and they were very
negative.” The loss severely hinders No. 17 UCLA’s
hopes of a high finish at the NCAA Championships in June, as
Johnson was slated to score crucial points for the team.
Johnson’s 400m hurdle time (50.12) from the beginning of
April still ranks him among the top six hurdlers in the nation. The
junior’s absence also strikes a blow to the mile relay team,
which took home All-American honors during the indoor season. While
Johnson, who has already missed such crucial competitions as the
USC dual meet and the Pac-10 Championships, is being forced to
forgo this season, the coaches are confident that he will be
granted a medical redshirt for this year, saving him from having to
waste an entire season. “If we ran him this weekend, he would
lose this whole year,” Venegas said. “Track and field
uses a 20-percent (of meets competed in out of total possible
meets) rule, and he is well within those parameters for a
redshirt.” Emilsson has been suffering from a patellar tendon
injury nearly all season long. Team doctors Monday decided that he
was not fit to compete this weekend, effectively ending the
redshirt senior’s career as a Bruin. The distance runner from
Sweden had one of the top regional times in the 3,000m steeplechase
(8:47.55) and was an All-American at last year’s NCAA Outdoor
Championships as well. The injury bug has been particularly cruel
to the distance corps, as just last week redshirt sophomore
All-American Austin Ramos was also forced to bow out early in the
season after battling a nagging leg injury that hindered his
training and racing.
UPCOMING: UCLA men’s and women’s
track and field have two events before the NCAA Outdoor
Championships in Sacramento take place June 6-10. The Bruins will
participate in the West Regional Championships this weekend, and
the Jim Bush Invitational follows in Occidental on June 4 before
the Bruins wrap up their season at nationals.