DELHI 2010: Exhausted Rudisha to miss Commonwealth Games

By Sportsbeat staff

COMMONWEALTH Games organisers have been dealt another blow after new world 800m record holder David Rudisha withdrew from next month’s event.

ABSENT: World record holder David Rudisha claims he is too tired to compete in next month's Commonwealth Games - good news for England's Michael Rimmer, who is seeking to improve on his European Championship silver medal (Reuters)

In the absence of Usain Bolt, Rudisha was likely to be one of the big draws in Delhi, having rewritten the 13-year old world record twice in a week.

However he now claims to be too exhausted to travel to India.

“I started my season early and was in shape and I maintained it until September. I believe I need time to rest and focus on next year,” said Rudisha, who also won this year’s African title.

“I have come to realise that, in this profession, you do not need to wait for your body to tell you when to stop but rather have the instinct to stop when it is required.”

Rudisha’s final appearance will be for Africa in this weekend’s IAAF Continental Cup in Split and Athletics Kenya claim they are fully supportive of their star man’s decision.

“I need to go away after Split, maybe for two months,” added Rudisha. 

“Next year has the World Championship and then we have the Olympics. I want to be in top form for both events."