Olympic silver medallist Katarina Johnson-Thompson has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games due to injury, Yankee Scores reports.
Dina Asher-Smith and 400m Olympic silver medallist Matt Hudson-Smith, who had been due to run relays for Team England in Glasgow, have also been replaced, along with Asher-Smith’s sprint team-mate Daryll Neita and 400m athlete Amber Anning.
Johnson-Thompson, 33, was preparing to take part in her third Commonwealth Games heptathlon after winning gold on the Gold Coast in 2018 and at Birmingham in 2022.
Team England did not disclose what the problem was, simply saying she had been replaced in the squad by Niamh Emerson, who took bronze behind Johnson-Thompson in 2018.
Losing such high profile names is a major blow to the event on the day the opening ceremony is held.
Renee Regis, Ebuka Nwokeji, Tara Simpson-Sullivan and Tom Keen have all been selected to the England team for the Glasgow athletics. The track and field competition begins Monday.
Many questioned the relevance of the event in the sporting calendar, especially as England’s Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson had already ruled out the event to focus on the European Championships, which start in Birmingham on August 10.
The European Championships squad is expected to be announced next week.
St Lucia’s Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred has pulled out of the Glasgow Games, while Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh, one of the sport’s biggest stars, is favouring the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.
Some athletes prefer other, more competitive events, with the likes of the United States, China and major European nations not part of the Commonwealths.
The Games have also suffered from the late confirmation of its dates and schedule, which was only confirmed in October last year. The event was originally scheduled to take place in March but Australian state Victoria withdrew as host in 2023.
Organisers said Thursday the event would still be a success despite the absence of some big names.
