ZURICH : Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson has withdrawn from Thursday’s 800 metres at the Zurich Diamond League meeting, saying her body was not ready to race again following last week’s European Championships.
The Briton had been due to renew her rivalry with European champion Audrey Werro, who beat Hodgkinson to gold in Birmingham in a championship-record 1:54.81.
“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.”
Hodgkinson, who won Olympic gold at the Paris 2024 Games, has scaled back her schedule after dealing with injuries in recent seasons.
Werro, who followed her European triumph by winning the 800m at last week’s Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, will still compete in Zurich.
Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell and Dutch 400m hurdles world champion Femke Broeders-Bol are also set to line up in the event.
The Zurich meeting is the penultimate Diamond League event of the season, with the series finale scheduled for Brussels on Sept. 4-5.
