JACOB PAUL admitted he was "disappointed" not to make the 400-metres hurdles final at the World Junior Championships after breaking his foot in the semi-final.
The Banstead athlete had a good chance of a medal at the Oregon-event but after cruising through his heat, heard a "crunch" in his semi-final race.
However, despite a double fracture in the second metatarsal of his left foot, the 19-year-old still finished the race in 54.3-seconds, admitting there was "no way" he way going to drop out.
"I could feel my foot hurting in the warm up, but I had a foot injury earlier on in the year and I ran through that," Paul explained. "There was no way I was going to pull out of my first World Championships semi-final.
"But as I got to hurdle six I attacked it with a left leg lead, and as I landed on my left foot that's when I felt it and heard it crunch.
"The first thing I thought was that it was broken, but it didn't hurt too much possibly because of the adrenaline. Then I thought about the American who broke his leg in the Olympics 4x400 relay but carried on and so I decided to do the same.
"Although I wasn't really able to sprint home, I'm just glad I finished the race."
Despite the injury, Paul, who hopes to be back on the track within three months, insists to compete at such a big event was a "great experience".
"It was disappointing for me not to make the final at my first and only World Junior Championships, especially as my PB would have got me fourth place," he said. "Training was going so well and I definitely felt in PB shape so would have been nice to try and compete for a medal. All in all it was a great experience and I would like to thank my coach Marina Armstrong and my training partners as I would not have even been at the championships without them."
