Helping Hans
6/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
June 8, 2004
Hans Uldal was in the best shape of his life.
The Missouri sophomore from Norway was coming off a successful freshman campaign in which he finished third in the Big 12 Conference in the heptathlon indoors and fourth in the decathlon outdoors.
Uldal also qualified for the NCAA Championships after setting a school record - soon to be broken by fellow Norwegian teammate Knut Sommerfeldt - in the decathlon with 7,587 points at the Florida Relays.
But Uldal's quest to get back on top of the Missouri record books was halted in the off-season.
He had surgery to move an artery that was wrapped around his right kidney. The artery was squeezing the kidney, and the fluids in the kidney couldn't pass through normally. Doctors had to cut the artery and reattach it.
Uldal redshirted during the indoor season after being forced to refrain from any strenuous activity for a month. After that, he could only do stabilizing exercises and light weight training for another month.
"I just took it step by step," Uldal said. "I was pretty much back in full practice around the middle of March. I've had a month with really good training, so I'm starting to feel like I'm coming back."
Uldal is starting to regain his form.
He finished second at the Big 12 Championships over a month ago with 7,329 points. Not bad for his first full decathlon this season, although he wasn't thrilled.
"It was an under-par competition for me," he said. "I had a pretty good start, but then I kind of fell through with it.
"But it was just good for me to see that I could finish a whole competition. I felt pretty good about it overall, though it was a bit off."
Even though Uldal wasn't happy with the performance, it was good enough to qualify him for this week's NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas. The meet begins tomorrow and continues through Saturday, with the decathlon taking place the final two days. Eight other Tigers also will be competing.
Uldal had the last month off to heal and train. He says he's back to 100 percent and that the break treated him well.
"I feel a lot better now. I had a little bit of a problem with my Achilles right after the Big 12s, but it's been really good lately," Uldal said. "I've got some good work done, so I'm really confident before the competition."
Uldal now has his sights set on regaining the school record.
"Yeah, definitely. That's one of my goals for the season," Uldal said. "Everything above 7,600 is a good way to go for me. Hopefully, we can do something about that on Friday and Saturday."
MU assistant coach Matt Candrl knew it was only a matter of time before Uldal regained his form.
"I know he's ahead of where he was at Big 12s," Candrl said. "He had some great workouts in the last couple weeks here. He's done a great job of steering himself into really being ready."
Uldal has put himself into position to improve on last year's performance at nationals, when he no-heighted on the high jump and didn't contend.
"He's at a point now where it's really starting to come together, and he's ready to perform big this weekend," Candrl said. "He knows the pieces are there. It's just a matter of letting it all come together."
