Canada's Andre De Grasse crosses the finish line during the men's 4x100-metre relay final at the World Athletics Championships, in Eugene, Ore., on July 23.The Associated Press
Sprinter Andre De Grasse and decathlete Pierce LePage are among the top Canadian track and field stars who have withdrawn from competing at the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
De Grasse ran the anchor leg as Canada won gold in the 4x100-metre relay at the recent world track and field championships.
Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake, who were also part of the relay team, have also withdrawn.
“These athletes have had a challenging world championships in hot weather conditions and unfortunately must withdraw from the 2022 Commonwealth Games to properly recover and prepare for the rest of the season,” Athletics Canada said in a statement Tuesday.
De Grasse, who had a bout with COVID-19 about a month back, failed to qualify for the men’s 100m final at the world championships before pulling out of the 200m event altogether.
Opting to compete in the relay days after those events ended, he anchored the Canadian team to gold in an upset over the Americans.
LePage, who had won silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, earned his first world championship medal with silver in the decathlon.
Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner, who suffered a hamstring injury at the world championships, was not on Canada’s Commonwealth Games team.
The Commonwealth Games are set to take place from July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham, England.