'Huge mistake' kept Henry from another Pan Am medal

PICKERING -- The Pan Am Games for Pickering's Anson Henry were, at turns, highly exhilarating and maddeningly frustrating.

Henry produced his second Pan Am medal, a silver in the men's 4-x-100-metre relay, but the international competition in Rio de Janeiro could have yielded another medal in the men's 100 metres if not for what he terms a "huge mistake" that had the net effect of leaving him in eighth place in the final.

He's determined not to make that error again when he runs for Canada at the upcoming IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Japan later this month.

In an e-mail interview with the News Advertiser, Henry, 28, describes the raucous atmosphere on the starting blocks just prior to the 100-metre final.

"I was very upset with how the 100 metres went because of a huge mistake I made at the start of the race. The crowd in Rio was kinda wild, especially when there were Brazilian athletes in the competition, and at the beginning of the 100m final, the crowd refused to be quiet.

"The starters kept standing us up, athletes kept putting their hands up, I must have got up at least five times. But, when the race actually did go, the starter let off a very, very quick gun, that I wasn't ready for at all. I got left at the start because of a really, really bad reaction. Other athletes were having the same issue and, unfortunately, I was one of those who let it interfere with my race.

"It was kind of a messed-up situation, but when it comes down to it, it was still my fault, and I should have been prepared to handle a situation like that. Going through the rounds, I felt really easy, and felt like I would definitely medal in the final but, unfortunately, I had that problem, and wasn't able to recover from it. In the 100 metres, little mistakes can cost you the race. Well, that was a huge mistake, and I left myself no chance after that."

The medal for Henry in the 4-x-100-metre relay with teammates Richard Adu-Bobie of Ottawa, Jared Connaughton of New Haven, P.E.I., and Brian Barnett of Edmonton made up for the miscue in the 100 metres. The Canadians finished just behind the Brazilians, but ahead of the favoured Americans, who the Canucks just edged for silver.

The silver is added to a bronze Henry won in the 100 metres at the 2003 Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

"I was pretty pleased with the relay medal. After the 100 metres, I was pretty upset about how that resulted, so walking out of here with the silver medal in the relay definitely helped me to feel like there was still some positivity coming out of the trip."

Henry says he expected to have a positive effect on the outcome of the race while carrying the baton for Canada on the second leg of the relay, and that's exactly how it went down.

"I knew here that with making the final in the 100m, I was one of the faster men in the whole meet, so I expected to handle anybody on the second leg with no problem. It went just like that, and we were well ahead after my exchange, and even ahead going into the last exchange, but Brazil had the better exchange at the end, and because of that were able to hold us off and get the gold. Gold would have been nice, and was what we were expecting since we had the fastest time going into the final, but we ended up with the silver. Can't be too upset about that, though."

Henry says he's looking forward to the chance to run in another world championship for Canada in Japan. In addition to the 4-x-100-metre relay, he'll also compete in the 100 metres - determined to learn from his Rio gaffe.

"I will be sure to keep myself from making the same mistake I did at Pan Ams," he says.