CANADIAN SPRINTER ANDRE de Grasse has been forced to pull out of the World Championships in London after tearing his hamstring.
The 22-year-old was widely considered to be Usain Bolt’s main rival for 100m gold, but now he’ll have to watch the Jamaican in action after sustaining the injury in his final training session on Monday.
De Grasse pocketed bronze in the 100m at Rio 2016, as well as 200m silver and a second bronze in the 4x100m relay.
He also ran a wind-assisted 9.69 seconds 100m in Stockholm in June.
“To my fans and my supporters, earlier this week in practice, I suffered a hamstring tear that has forced me to withdraw from the World Championships,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“Injuries are a part of the sport, and the timing of this one is especially unfortunate.
“While I’m in the best shape of my life and extremely disappointed that I will not have the chance to compete for my country in London, I can’t forget or be ungrateful for the successes that I’ve been blessed with up to this point in my career.
“Thank you to my family, friends and fans that have supported me all the way….. I’ll be back stronger and faster than ever.”
His manager Paul Doyle added: “We tried to do everything we could to have him ready but he’s just not going to be ready.
“Further MRI results today showed it’s probably going to be another four to six weeks before he’s fully recovered.
“So unfortunately he’s out of the 100m, 200m and the relay and done for the season.”
The World Championships run from 4-13 August. Eleven Irish athletes, including Thomas Barr, Rob Heffernan and Ciara Mageean, will be in action.
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