Rudisha, Farah pull out of CWG
Too tired to compete, say athletes
The Delhi Commonwealth Games continue to be dogged by star pullouts with 800M world record holder David Rudisha and double European long distance champion Mohammed Farah becoming the latest to withdraw from the October 3-14 event.
Both Rudisha and Farah say they are too tired to compete. “I started my season early and was in shape and I maintained it until September. I believe I need time to rest and focus on next year,” said Rudisha, who broke the 13-year old world record twice in a week recently.
“I have come to realise that, in this profession, you do not need to wait for your body to tell you when to stop but rather have the instinct to stop when it is required,” the Kenyan was quoted as saying in a UK website. “Next year has the World Championship and then we have the Olympics. I want to be in top form for both events.”
Farah said his body is also too tired to make the trip to India. “My body is telling me it is time to take a break,” said the 27-year-old, who won gold for Britain in the 5000 and 10,000 metres at the European Championships in Barcelona. “I had a great 2010 season and my body is telling me that it is time to take a break from training and racing,” he told ‘BBC Sport’.
Farah blamed the exhaustion on a tight schedule he followed this year. “I have been competing since the start of the year at cross-country, road and track and feel that I need a few weeks off now to let my body recover so that I can start winter training fit and healthy,” he said.
“Over the past few weeks I have been getting a few niggles, nothing serious but enough to tell me to ease back. I was looking forward to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi but after the success I had this year I am happy to call it a season,” he added. Farah said he would now focus on preparing for the next year’s World Championships and the 2012 London Olympics. “I look forward to the 2011 World Championships in Daegu and the 2012 Olympic Games in my home city of London. I came close to getting a medal in the past two World Championships and hope that I can continue to improve over the next few years,” he said.
