02 March 2009

Kelly Sotherton (Birchfield Harriers), Jade Johnson (Herne Hill Harriers) and Chris Warburton (Notts AC) have all withdrawn from the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team for this weekend’s European Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy.

Multi-eventer Sotherton, who won pentathlon silver at this championships two years ago in Birmingham, had been struggling with a heel injury. Long jumper Johnson – a finalist at the Beijing Olympic Games last summer – has pulled out due to a nerve problem in the lower part of her take-off leg. 1500m runner Warburton has been diagnosed with an injury to his right foot.

UKA Head Coach and Aviva GB & NI team leader Charles van Commenee said: “All the athletes would have been at risk of jeopardising their outdoor seasons by competing in Turin. So we have taken a cautionary route. Last week we believed Kelly would be able to make it, but she suffered a reaction in a crucial training session on Monday morning and has made the decision to pull out.”