Greg Rutherford, citing fitness, withdraws from World Indoors

Greg Rutherford, photo by PhotoRun.net

BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Former world and Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford has pulled out of the British team for the World Indoor Championships, informs British Athletics. “My performance from the British Championships to the Indoor Grand Prix in Glasgow at the weekend showed improvement but it was still not at the level I demand of myself. It has not been an easy decision but I have therefore chosen to withdraw from the World Indoor Championships. I am now going to take a few days to recover from Glasgow before resuming training as I prepare for a successful summer.”

RunBlogRun opines: The body can do amazing things. Athletes demand much of their bodies and souls. Greg Rutherford has won World championships, European championships, Olympic championships and of course, British championships. The long jump beats one’s body up in ways most of us do not consider. Greg wanted to do well in the World Indoors, but he would not have been at the fitness level he demands of himself. That is the conundrum of a champion athlete. We wish him a quick recovery and some great jumps in 2018 and 2019.

And that’s a wrap. I’ve decided to shut it down and end the indoor escapades. • I thought long and hard and had in-depth conversations with my team about the world indoor champs and we decided as a collective that focusing on the summer is a far better idea for my body at this point. • When I had the ankle surgery and found out the severity of the injury the indoors became a no chance scenario. Somehow as has often happened I managed to heal quicker than most ever would and start training earlier than expected. But with only a months training under my belt, to expect to beat the best in the world isn’t possible. BUT, I’m going to train hard for a couple of months now and come back ready to win in the summer. #athlete #fitness

A post shared by Greg Rutherford (@gregjrutherford) on Feb 28, 2018 at 10:38am PST