Arabic version: هودجكينسون تنسحب من سباق 800 متر في الدوري الماسي بزيورخ
According to BBC News, Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson has withdrawn from Thursday’s women’s 800 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich because her body is “not quite ready”.
Hodgkinson had been due to race Switzerland’s Audrey Werro, who beat the Briton to European Championships gold in Birmingham earlier this month. “Unfortunately the body isn’t quite ready to race again after the European Championships,” Hodgkinson said in a statement. “We’ve made the decision to skip this race and get ready for the next one. Sad to miss it, hopefully see you next year!”
The event will include world 400m hurdles champion Femke Broeders-Bol, who has moved up to the 800m this season, and Hodgkinson’s training partner Georgia Hunter-Bell, the Commonwealth Games 800m champion in Glasgow last month.
World 800m champion Lilian Odira of Kenya has also withdrawn after illness and weakness since the Commonwealth Games. Odira beat Hodgkinson and Hunter-Bell to gold in Tokyo last year.
Diamond League organisers said they respected Hodgkinson’s decision and hoped to see her race in Zurich in the future. The Zurich meeting, scheduled for Thursday 27 August, is the penultimate Diamond League event of the season, before the Brussels final on 4 and 5 September.
