Welsh star Dewi Griffiths has had to withdraw from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games due to injury.
Griffiths who was set to double up in the 5000m and 10,000m in Australia next month has made the decision after a frustrating few months with injuries.
“This obviously isn’t the news any athlete would like to hear, but I’m sure Team Wales will do the country proud out there,” said the 26-year-old.
Griffiths was intent on impressing on the track at the Commonwealth Games after his Glasgow 2014 ended in on crutches. 2017 saw the Welshman make a breakthrough on the marathon front, running 2:09:49 in his debut in Frankfurt as well as PB’s on the road from 5k to half marathon.
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After a hamstring injury at the European Cross Country Championships in December, he returned to race in the Armagh 5k in February. However, he did not recover well from that race and pulled out mid-race in his next outing at the Welsh cross country championships on February 24.
Chris Jones, Head of Endurance for Welsh Athletics, added: “It’s a huge loss for the team, but it’s a sign of the level of work that Dewi has had to put in and sustain, in order to run at the level he has, especially to run a 2:09 marathon.
“Our eyes will now focus on where Dewi can go with the marathon and building towards Tokyo 2020.”
Welsh teammate Caryl Jones reacted to the disappointing news saying on Twitter: “Not just a huge loss in performance but in personality & company! I’m gutted!”