Olympic gold medallist Nina Kennedy has been g forced to pull out of the upcoming world championships due to another leg injury.
Having overcome several hamstring injuries to make the team for next month’s event in Tokyo, Kennedy, who won gold in the pole vault at the Paris Olympics, made the emotional revelation on social media.
Kennedy suffered the injury in one of her final training sessions before leaving for overseas.
“Not the news I wanted to be sharing. I’ve strained a muscle in my leg in out of my last sessions before world’s,” she posted.
“I’m sad to say I’ll be withdrawing from the World Championships.
“Even though I am disappointed, I’m proud of myself for trying to get back and put myself in the best position to jump high at worlds.
“I can genuinely say I did everything I could, I gave it a red-hot crack and that in itself is a measure of success.
“Sport can be brutal, but injuries are just a part of the journey, and that’s OK.”
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Kennedy had surgery five months ago to repair a hamstring that had been ripped three times in six weeks.
But she had worked her way back to be included in the record 88-strong Australian team for the world titles, before this latest setback.
Elsewhere, Queensland sprinter Lachlan Kennedy has also been ruled out of next month’s World Athletics Championship in Tokyo due to a back injury.
Last week, the 21-year-old confirmed he had succumbed to a stress fracture and would not travel to Japan for the world championships, where he was set to compete in the 100m and 4x100m relay.
Elsewhere, Australian walker Jemima Montag, who won two medals at last year’s Paris Olympics, has also withdrawn from the world championship because of a hamstring injury.
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