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Abby Steiner announces injury setback after failing to make it to 2024 Olympics

Abby Steiner announced another injury setback after failing to make the U.S. track and field team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The former Dublin Coffman High School and Kentucky sprinter finished sixth in the 200-meter outdoor race at the U.S. Olympic Qualifiers, clocking a time of 22.24 seconds, 0.33 seconds faster than the third-place finisher, with just three spots on the Olympic team up for grabs.

According to an Instagram post on Wednesday, Steiner said she was “unable to properly walk around my house for about two weeks” after the court hearings.

“I got my third MRI of the season, which showed us there were more bone spurs and a partial tear of my Achilles tendon, which meant it was time to (re)close it and have (another) surgery,” Steiner wrote.

Steiner ended her 2023 track and field season last July to undergo surgery to remove a bone spur in her left heel that had been pressing on her Achilles tendon. In her social media post Wednesday, Steiner said she was trying to prepare for the Olympics “in an accommodating time frame.”

“Since it's an Olympic year and I'm a competitive type, I thought I could hold out for the next few months to compete in the trials,” Steiner wrote. “We tried basically everything you can do for a foot to alleviate my symptoms, but I struggled a lot. I often hobbled around before and after training and only managed to fulfill a lifelong dream through sheer willpower.

“As the outdoor season progressed, it got worse and worse and I eventually had to withdraw from a few competitions before the tryouts because I couldn't even stand jogging or walking during training. Since the tryouts were so short, I was determined to be on the starting line to make the team.”

Steiner is a two-time American record holder, setting the US indoor 200m record of 21.77 in 2022 and the indoor 300m record in early 2023.

Steiner won four NCAA titles and was a 15-time All-American at Kentucky. She holds the American collegiate record in the 200-meter dash indoors and the 200- and 300-meter dashes outdoors.

Before Kentucky, Steiner won the state title in the 200-meter dash four times in a row and the 100-meter dash three times in Coffman.

Steiner was named the district's soccer player of the year and helped Coffman to a second-place finish at the state level in 2014.

“I've been trying to find a reason for this season and have definitely felt all the emotions that come with it,” Steiner continued. “This sport can be really, really tough at times. But I've also experienced enough adversity to know that greatness is usually on the other side of those mountains. What I love most is running pain-free and I can't wait to get back to it.”

“I have a really good team around me and I'm grateful for that in these times. I'm going to fight like crazy to get back. See you on the track soon (or so).”

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