Elaine Thompson-Herah, the only woman to have successfully defended the 100m and 200m sprint double, on Thursday pulled out of the Paris Olympics due to an achilles injury.
"I am hurt and devastated to be missing the Olympics this year but at the end of the day it's sports and my health comes first," said the 31-year-old Jamaican.
Thompson-Herah abandoned her bid to defend her 200m crown after opting out of the 200m event at this week's Jamaica trials in Kingston.
She had entered the 100m at the trials but eventually sat out that sprint.
Her fitness had been in doubt since she finished last in the 100m at the New York Grand Prix at the Icahn Stadium on 9 June.
"It's never fun sharing news like this but at the New York Grand Prix, I felt something in the race and still insist to push, couple steps to the line I realise something is really wrong," the Jamaican wrote in an Instagram post.
"I sat on the ground because I couldn't apply any pressure to the leg whatsoever as I was carried off the track. I went quickly to get (a) medical check-up, and to find out that I have a small tear on my Achilles tendon.
Challenge
"Funny enough I got back home with a strong mindset to keep pushing and prepare for my national trials and another shot of my third Olympics but the leg wouldn't allow me to," she said.
Thompson – as she was then – ran 10.710 to claim gold in Rio in 2016 ahead of Tori Bowie from the United States and her fellow Jamaica Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. It was her first medal at a major tournament.
The 24-year-old then added the 200m to mirror the feats of her compatriot Usain Bolt in the men's sprints and become the first woman to brandish an Olympic sprint double since Florence Griffith-Joyner at Seoul in 1988.
An injury to her achilles dogged her after Rio and she missed out on medals at the world championships in London in 2017 and in Doha in 2019.
At the delayed Tokyo Olympics, Thompson-Herah - following her marriage to Derron Herah - retained both titles to become the first woman to defend 100m and 200m titles at the Olympic Games since the 200m event was added to the Olympic roster for women in 1948.
A fifth gold came courtesy of a leg in the 4x100m relay.
Thompson-Herah insisted that she plans to continue her sprinting career despite her Olympic heartbreak.
"It's a long road but I am willing to start over and keep working and to make full recovery and resume my track career."
