Australian walk champion to miss Olympics

Australian walk champion to miss Olympics

Australia lost another Olympic medal hopeful Monday as 50-kilometre walk world champion Nathan Deakes withdrew from the Beijing Games due to a hamstring injury.

Deakes, 30, aggravated the chronically troublesome hamstring last week at his training base in St. Moritz, Switzerland. An MRI revealed a tear that will require surgery, ruling him out of the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics.

"I'm still in a bit of shock," said Deakes, who is expected to be out of competition for between six and nine months. "I'm sure it will sink in in the middle of August when I'm watching the Games."

Deakes — an Olympic bronze medallist in the 20-kilometre walk in 2004 and a former world-record holder in the 50 km, which he won at last summer's world championships — joins fellow world champ Jana Rawlinson on the sidelines for Australia.

Rawlinson, who won gold in the 400-metre hurdles at last year's worlds, announced on July 9 that she'd skip the Olympics due to complications from a toe injury.