Redhawks shut down Smith for remainder of season

~ The 400-meter runner hopes to get completely healthy and make a bid for the 2008 Olympics.

The injury-plagued season of Southeast Missouri State track All-American and World Champion gold medalist Miles Smith is over.

But Southeast coach Joey Haines expects his senior star to receive a medical hardship from the NCAA and come back stronger than ever next year as he chases an Olympic berth.

"I think in the long run Miles is going to come back better than he has been, which is saying a lot," Haines said.

Haines said Thursday that, based on advice from Southeast's training staff, he has decided it's best to shut down Smith for the remainder of a season that never really got going.

Smith, who suffered a hamstring injury in the 400 meters at last year's NCAA outdoor championships, continues to be bothered by a hip injury that may have originated with the hamstring problems.

Smith competed in just two indoor meets and two outdoor meets this year, which is the maximum the NCAA allows for receiving a medical hardship.

"He should have no problem getting the medical hardship, which will give him his senior season back next year," Haines said. "We're going to try to get him well so he can be 100 percent, instead of trying to yo-yo him through the season.

"We decided the only way he'll get 100 percent well is to get 100 percent rest for a while."

Haines said Smith's hamstring, which he injured during the NCAA outdoor semifinals last year as he appeared headed to the finals, has healed well and is no longer a problem.

"The hamstring is fine now, but he got jarred at an indoor meet this year and it affected his hip," Haines said. "It's keeping him from accelerating, keeping him from running 100 percent."

Smith, who finished sixth in the 400 at the 2005 U.S. Championships and later that summer earned a gold medal as a member of the U.S. 1,600 relay team at the World Championships, was eyeing another big summer during this World Championship year.

But with 2008 being an Olympic year, Haines said everything Smith wants to accomplish is still in front of him.

"We're not shutting him down so he can do anything this summer, we're shutting him down so he can be ready in August," Haines said. "Miles can be totally ready for the indoor and outdoor [college] seasons next year, and if he does next summer what he did at the USA Championships two years ago, he'll be going to the Olympics.

"This is just a temporary setback for Miles. The big thing is to get him totally healthy so he can run the way he's capable of running."