Achilles

From the pickup basketball player to the motivated marathoner, all who exercise can suffer the agony of the feet. Here are the most common injuries: Plantar fasciitis Any activity that involves jumping, plus sudden stops and starts, can lead to plantar fasciitis. This overstretching of the ligament that runs from the heel to the ball of the foot, straight through the arch, affects about 14 percent of men and women ages 18 to 60, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.

NEW YORK -- The phone rang and Ted Theos heard the voice of trainer Mike Trombetta. "My friend," Trombetta said, "if you want to win the Gotham, you're going to have to do it from the 10th hole." Theos laughed, recalling the conversation about tomorrow's $200,000, Grade III Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct and Sweetnorthern- saint, the thoroughbred he co-owns with fellow Baltimore resident Joseph Balsamo. "Four months ago, if you would have told me we'd be doing this [competing in a Triple Crown prep race]

COLLEGE PARK - The Maryland's women's basketball season received a major setback yesterday when it was learned that 6-foot-4 freshman forward Laura Harper will be lost for the rest of the season with an Achilles' tendon injury in her left ankle. Harper, the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading rebounder (9.8 a game) and the team's third-leading scorer (13.2), suffered the injury in practice Monday night, coach Brenda Frese announced last night. Harper will undergo surgery later this week.

CANTON, Ohio - Joe Gibbs knew it would be tough. The returning Washington Redskins coach told anyone willing to listen not to quickly expect anything evoking the team's glory days, of which he was an integral part. For the first time since 1993, Gibbs coached a real game last night - if preseason can be considered real - and watched his offense sputter as neither of his leading quarterback contenders distinguished himself. Worst of all, the Redskins lost starting right offensive tackle Jon Jansen for the season with a ruptured left Achilles'.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Courtney Kupets may have torn her Achilles' tendon last summer, but she didn't show weakness in her heel or anywhere else last night at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. The reigning all-around national champion from Gaithersburg led all 32 competitors, completing her four routines with a total score of 38.225, and winning the balance beam. "I was confident," Kupets said, beaming. "Right now, winning nationals isn't as important as doing all my routines cleanly ... but who wouldn't want it?"

At the start of Troy, King Agamemnon (Brian Cox), unifier of the Greeks, must cajole Brad Pitt's Achilles out of his tent to engage in single-warrior combat against a giant Thessalian. I kept thinking not of Homer, but how difficult it was to get Marilyn Monroe out of her trailer on the desert locations of The Misfits. This handsome and occasionally exciting movie flounders because it confuses Tinseltown glamour with legendary heroism and beauty. Brad Pitt creates an amazing smudge-free image but no mystery - except, perhaps, "What is his workout regimen?"

Interviewed on the Today show by Katie Couric in February. Named to the honor roll at Rockville's Magruder High School in March. And the subject of her own Sports Illustrated for Kids sports card this month. So, what do you do for an encore, Courtney Kupets? The 17-year-old gymnast grins. "I don't know. It's all pretty cool," she says. Kupets, the 2003 national all-around champion, has been in intense rehabilitation since tearing her Achilles' tendon last August at the world championships.

The rust didn't show at all last weekend as 2003 U.S. gymnastics champion Courtney Kupets of Gaithersburg won the event that made her a world champion in 2002. Performing only two routines to protect her repaired Achilles' tendon, the Magruder High student scored a 9.825 in the uneven bars - the highest score awarded at the 30th Parkette Invitational in Allentown, Pa. For Kupets, 17, who was injured while warming up for the world championships in Anaheim, Calif., last August, the event marked her return to competition and the beginning of her push to make the U.S. squad, which will be selected in late June.

What causes Achilles tendinitis, and how do I know if I have it? If you're a runner (or play a sport that involves significant running) and have chronic Achilles pain, there is a good chance it is tendinitis. Tight calf muscles, poor running biomechanics and bad footwear are likely to blame. Properly fitted shoes and orthotics (if necessary) should correct any biomechanics problems like over-pronation. To be fitted for the right shoes, visit a specialty running shop. Also be sure to stretch your calves, particularly after exercise when your muscles are warm.