Hard luck continued to follow Utah's Julie Jenkins Donley at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Atlanta.
Donley, a 1992 Olympian at 800 meters, came down with a kidney infection and was unable to run in the semifinals, even though she had qualified for the race.Shortly after running in Friday's qualifying heats, Donley began to experience cramps. According to her father, Quenten, she was taken to the hospital with a 104-degree temperature and was diagnosed with a kidney infection.
"That ends the Olympics for her," said Quenten. "She really feels bad. To get that far . . . It's all right if you get beat, but when you have something like this happen. She's pretty bummed. It's about the same as when she got run over."
Donley was struck by a van while walking across a New York street to catch a bus to the 1991 national championships. Miraculously, despite the lingering effects of the accident, a year later she made the Olympic team with a second-place finish in the Olympic trials.
At the Olympics Donley was running with the lead pack with 300 meters to go when she was spiked from behind. She slipped to last place with a bloody ankle.
Donley, trying to come back this year after giving birth to her first child, looked good in Friday's preliminary heats. She qualified for the semifinals with a time of 2:02.29. She was rated among the favorites to claim one of the three Olympic berths.