Athletics Injury Report: Sable Mounts Triumphant Return as Lyles and Omanyala Shut Down Seasons

The grueling reality of an extended Olympic-year track and field calendar is finally collecting its toll. With the inaugural $10 million World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest just days away, a cascade of late-season injuries has sidelined reigning Olympic champions and reshaped the global sprint and jump landscapes. Yet amid the high-profile withdrawals of names like Noah Lyles and Mondo Duplantis, the final weeks of the 2026 season have also delivered remarkable stories of resilience, headlined by a 14-month comeback in the steeplechase.[1][2]

The most uplifting return of the month belongs to India's Avinash Sable, who stepped back onto the track on September 10 to win the 3000m steeplechase at the Indian Athletics Series Final in New Delhi. Clocking a commanding 8:32.39, Sable finished well ahead of the domestic field in his first competitive steeplechase since suffering a devastating injury in July 2025.

Sable had torn his ACL and meniscus in his right knee after a heavy fall at the water jump during the Monaco Diamond League. The 31-year-old underwent surgery and spent over a year rebuilding his body and his confidence. "I lost all my confidence. I was feeling like a beginner athlete," Sable admitted after his victory, crediting his support team for getting him from "the bed to the track." He now heads to Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, to defend his Asian Games gold medal later this month, declaring his fitness "even better than the last Asian Games."

While Sable mounts his return, the men's sprints have lost their biggest box-office draw. On September 4, Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles announced he was ending his 2026 season due to a lingering injury, officially pulling out of the Ultimate Championships.[1]

Lyles revealed that a small strain sustained around the US Championships in July—where he ran a world-leading 9.79 seconds—had triggered secondary physical issues. "Unfortunately, because of the strain, it caused some other things to flare up, and it's made it hard for me to continue practicing," Lyles stated. The 29-year-old American noted that the decision to shut down was made to preserve his body for the 2027 World Championships and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.[1]

The sprint field suffered another heavy blow when Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala, the African record holder, confirmed his season was over due to a stress fracture in the heel bone of his left foot. The injury, sustained earlier in the summer, forced Omanyala to withdraw from both the Diamond League Final in Brussels and the Budapest Ultimate Championships, halting a campaign that featured five sub-10-second performances.[3]

In the field events, the status of Swedish pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis remains the sport's biggest question mark. Duplantis was a late scratch from the Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 4, withdrawing just minutes before the competition began due to tightness in his left thigh and back.[2]

The 26-year-old double Olympic champion had battled similar issues at the London Diamond League meeting in July and felt the irritation return during his warm-ups in Belgium. "It's terrible. It's not what you want to do as an athlete," Duplantis said, noting that pushing through the pain in Brussels would have reduced his chances of competing in Budapest to "zero percent."

The circuit now shifts to Hungary for the richest single meet in track and field history, where the absence of Lyles and Omanyala guarantees new faces will claim the $150,000 individual sprint prizes. Duplantis has until September 11 to prove his fitness for the pole vault runway. For Sable, the next checkpoint is already set: the Asian Games starting line in Aichi-Nagoya on September 28, where he will test a surgically repaired knee against the continent's best.[1][2]