Reigning Olympic decathlon champion Markus Rooth and 2020 Olympic 20km race walk champion Massimo Stano will both miss the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo from 13-21 September due to injuries.
Rooth announced on Instagram that he will have to undergo surgery after a bad fall in training while training for the pole vault. He said: "It’s with a heavy heart I have to announce that I won’t be competing at the world championship in Tokyo. I landed outside the pole vault mat in practice injuring my knee and elbow. I will be undergoing surgery this week. Excited to get back as soon as possible."
Stano will also be absent from the World Athletics Championships due to a recurring hamstring injury. Stano, who would have been one of the favourites for the 35km race walk title in Tokyo having broken the world record earlier this year with 2:20:43 at the European Race Walking Team Championships, has said he isn’t in form due to recent injury setbacks since that triumph.
"Since the beginning of July, I haven't been able to train as I would have liked, and unfortunately, the latest training hasn't given me any confidence, even though we've tried every possible avenue to get into a state of fitness that would have guaranteed me a modicum of competitiveness. A subpar World Championships wouldn't motivate me, and I'd risk an even more serious injury: my goal remains Los Angeles 2028," he said.
European 100m hurdles champion and Olympic silver medallist Cyrena Samba-Mayela has also withdrawn from the World Athletics Championships due to injury. The Frenchwoman raced for the first time this season at the Scottish Championships this weekend but she was short of competitive form, clocking 13.30 in the heats and 13.37 in the final.
"I spent a large part of this year hampered by two consecutive injuries. I pushed myself to my limits, I gave everything I could to come back, but despite all my efforts, it wasn't enough to prepare for the World Championships in the best possible conditions," said Samba-Mayela who won European gold last year in 12.31, breaking a championship record which had stood since 1986.