DOHA, May 4 (Reuters) - Late pull-outs by 800 metres world record holder David Rudisha of Kenya and his main challenger Abubaker Kaki of Sudan have hit the first IAAF Diamond League meeting of the year to be held in Doha on Friday.
Rudisha, the 2010 world athlete of the year, is yet to fully recover from a leg injury while double world indoor champion Kaki suffered leg cramps during training.
"I'm very disappointed not to be able to run in Doha, where I've opened my summer racing season for the last four years," Rudisha said in a statement.
The Kenyan world record holder started 2011 at the Melbourne Track Classic in March, clocking 1 minute 43.88 seconds, the fastest in the world this year.
With several top athletes skipping the Qatar meeting as they bid to peak only in time for the World Championships in Daegu in South Korea (Aug. 27 to Sept. 4), the Doha field looks depleted.
The 100m is not part of the official 16-event meeting, but is included as an additional race at the discretion of local organisers.
However, the absences of Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay mean it is unlikely to attract the attention of fans and the men's 800m race was expected to be the most exciting track event before news of the withdrawals.
The men's shot put will now take on more significance with world indoor and outdoor champion Christian Cantwell of the U.S. facing perennial foes Reese Hoffa and Poland's Tomasz Majewski, the Olympic champion.
World and European indoor champion Teddy Tamgho is the favourite to win the men's triple jump.
"I'm extremely happy to come back to Doha. It's here my career really started to progress, so I decided to start my season here. The crowd in Doha at the World Indoor Championships last year was magnificent and I hope to perform well on Friday," the Frenchman told reporters.
Rudisha, the 2010 world athlete of the year, is yet to fully recover from a leg injury while double world indoor champion Kaki suffered leg cramps during training.
"I'm very disappointed not to be able to run in Doha, where I've opened my summer racing season for the last four years," Rudisha said in a statement.
The Kenyan world record holder started 2011 at the Melbourne Track Classic in March, clocking 1 minute 43.88 seconds, the fastest in the world this year.
With several top athletes skipping the Qatar meeting as they bid to peak only in time for the World Championships in Daegu in South Korea (Aug. 27 to Sept. 4), the Doha field looks depleted.
The 100m is not part of the official 16-event meeting, but is included as an additional race at the discretion of local organisers.
However, the absences of Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay mean it is unlikely to attract the attention of fans and the men's 800m race was expected to be the most exciting track event before news of the withdrawals.
The men's shot put will now take on more significance with world indoor and outdoor champion Christian Cantwell of the U.S. facing perennial foes Reese Hoffa and Poland's Tomasz Majewski, the Olympic champion.
World and European indoor champion Teddy Tamgho is the favourite to win the men's triple jump.
"I'm extremely happy to come back to Doha. It's here my career really started to progress, so I decided to start my season here. The crowd in Doha at the World Indoor Championships last year was magnificent and I hope to perform well on Friday," the Frenchman told reporters.
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