Rutherford Out of World Championships

Reigning long jump champion Greg Rutherford has withdrawn from next month’s World Championships in London because of an ankle injury.
Rutherford, who won Olympic gold at London 2012 prior to claiming the 2015 world title, said he was “gutted”.

Richard Kilty, who was selected for the 4x100m relay, has also pulled out of the event with a broken finger.
But Shara Proctor, Jazmin Sawyers, Lennie Waite, Marc Scott and Jess Turner have been added to the GB squad.

Rutherford said he had done “everything” he could to compete at the stadium where he won his Olympic gold five years ago but had failed to overcome an ankle ligament injury.

“With an incredible start to the year in training, and very promising early season form, I have had a difficult series of setbacks as the season progressed,” added Rutherford, who also won Commonwealth gold in 2014 and the European title in 2014 and 2016.

“Most recently, a badly damaged ankle ligament and a sportsman’s hernia, really put paid to my plans. The injuries have taken longer to heal than we hoped, and I have been unable to even jump at all in training, let alone compete.
“I am truly gutted. That stadium is such a special place for me, I am so devastated that I won’t be competing in front of the best fans in the world, in the stadium that changed my life.”

“Greg is one of only a few British athletes to complete the ‘Grand Slam’ of medals, but that won’t make missing London any easier,” said Neil Black, performance director for British Athletics.
“He desperately wanted to defend his world title in front of the home crowd, but unfortunately his injury hasn’t cleared up in time and the hard but sensible decision had to be made to withdraw.”

Meanwhile, Proctor and Sawyers will contest the long jump, Waite will run the 3,000m steeplechase, Scott the 5,000m and Turner will be in the 400m hurdles.
The World Championships take place from 4 to 13 August at the London Stadium and an 81-strong team will represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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