Despite bad break Harris remains upbeat

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The USOC’s state-of-the-art Beijing-replica track at Chula Vista claimed its first victim before the Trials even began when Bubba Harris of Goodyear, Ariz., broke a foot during a spill on the second straightaway in one of the final practice sessions Thursday. Harris, a provisional selection to the Trials field, originally thought the fracture was just a bad sprain but doctors diagnosed it as a break Friday, dashing his hopes to make the first Olympic BMX team.

‘It’s just one of those things,’ Harris said. ‘I was ready for this race. It’s anybody’s race. I would have been one of those guys. [But] it is what it is. I’ll be back. This is the first Olympic BMX race but it’s not the last race. I’ll be back.’

A world champion in 2005, Harris, who was hobbling around the Trials venue Saturday morning in a walking cast, missed much of the last two seasons with injury, including a horrific dislocation of his left foot and ankle last summer that nearly ended his career. But he rebounded to finish fourth in the Madrid supercross event in February, earning a place on the Long Team and an invitation to the Trials.

‘This is a way easier break than last time. I’ll be all right,’ said Harris, who is expected to be ready to race again by August for the Beijing competition.

-- Kevin Baxter

Photo: John Way/Associated Press