21 September 2010

Due to injury, defending champions Christine Ohuruogu (coach: Lloyd Cowan) and Lisa Dobriskey (coach: George Gandy) will miss out on competing at the Commonwealth Games which will take place in Delhi, India from 3-14 October.

Olympic 400m champion Ohuruogu, who felt a cramp during a training session last weekend, has decided in conjunction with her coach Lloyd Cowan and the UKA medical team to pull out of the Games rather than risk irritating the injury to her left quadriceps which resulted in her missing the latter part of the 2010 track and field season.

“I am disappointed to miss the Commonwealth Games after working so hard to get fit since my quad injury in June,” said Ohuruogu. “However, with the 2012 Olympic Games on the horizon the last thing an athlete wants to do is risk re-injury to the same muscle.”

“It was very important for me to be cautious in dealing with my previous injury, and although training was progressing well, intense competition over three days may prove to be more harmful than good and may compromise the long term functioning of the muscle. With three rounds in the 400m in Delhi I would need to be close to my best to win the gold.

“I had already picked up my team kit and was getting ready to go to the preparation camp in Doha.  Instead I will have a short break now and resume winter training in October to get ready for the 2011 season.

“I would like to wish all my fellow athletes the best for Delhi and I hope they bring home a lot of medals.”

Dobriskey, after a demanding summer, has also taken the hard decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games England team who will compete in Delhi.

Having struggled with injury earlier in the season, she worked hard to get into shape for the European Championships in Barcelona where she finished fourth in the 1500m, but has taken medical advice from UKA doctors to rest and focus on winter season training working towards the 2011 indoor season.

“I was really looking forward to competing and I’d worked so hard to get back into shape,” she said. “I’m really disappointed, but I just ran out of time. I want to wish all the best to the athletes out in Delhi.”

For further information about England’s Commonwealth Games Team please contact the Commonwealth Games England press office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 443 998 or 07831 755351 or see the CGE’s  website at www.weareengland.org