800m world record holder David Rudisha will miss World Athletics in London
Last Updated: 02/08/17 8:11pm
David Rudisha has been ruled out of the upcoming World Athletics Championships in London due to injury.
The 800m world record holder will miss out on a return to the stadium where he set his ground-breaking mark of one minute 40.91 seconds in his Olympic gold medal-winning run five years ago.
It was hailed at the time by London 2012 chairman Lord Coe as the standout performance of the Games.
The Kenyan said on Twitter: "It's sad and disappointing to announce my no show in the forthcoming #london2017 WC due to a quad muscle strain."
Rudisha retained his Olympic title in Rio last summer and would also have been the defending world champion in London, having claimed his second world title in Beijing two years ago.
The 28-year-old is ranked only 19th in the world this year, but his absence nonetheless deprives the London championships of one of the sport's biggest stars.
Fellow Kenyan Emmanuel Korir and Botswana's Nijel Amos are the favourites to battle for the gold in Rudisha's absence.
The World Championships will get under way at the London Stadium on Friday.
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