Owens, though, made the best of the situation, focusing on his studies and training with the OSU track team under coach Larry Snyder. Snyder, who thought Owens' race starts were too slow, made the athlete repeatedly practice starts that had him crouching tightly at the starting line. He also altered Owens' long-jump style, teaching him to move his legs in mid-air.
In general, a low platelet count occurs because: 1  The body's bone marrow doesn't make enough platelets. 2  The bone marrow makes enough platelets, but the body destroys them or uses them up. 3  The spleen holds on to too many platelets.
Normal platelet count is in the range of 150,000 to 450,000. In a child with ITP, the platelet count is generally less than 100,000. By the time significant bleeding occurs, the child may have a platelet count of less than 10,000. The lower the platelet count, the greater the risk of bleeding.