His time was 45 seconds. In case you’re wondering how long 400 meters is, it’s 1,312.34 feet. There are 5,280 feet in a mile. So, that means Mitchell ran about a quarter of a mile in 45 seconds – with a broken leg! Mitchell says, “I was thinking I just didn’t feel right. As soon as I took the first step past the 200 meter mark, I felt it break. I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn’t hear it. I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.”
When asked why he kept running, Mitchell replied, “I knew if I finished strong we could still get it (the baton) around. I saw (teammate) Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me. I didn’t want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad. I’m pretty amazed that I split 45 seconds on a broken leg.” The rest of the world was amazed too. Due to Mitchell’s valiant effort, the U.S. team finished second in that heat and qualified to run in the finals, where it won a silver medal.