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Kenenisa Bekele withdrew from the 2020 London Marathon with a calf injury.
The Ethiopian, who has the second-fastest marathon time in history (02:01:41), two seconds behind Eliud Kipchoge’s time last year in Berlin, has succumbed to injury.
It means the long-awaited battle with defending champion and world record holder Kipchoge on Sunday is over, and the Kenyan is now the big favorite.
The 38-year-old said: “I am very disappointed. I detected a problem in my left calf after two fast training sessions close together.
“I really thought he would be ready, but today is worse and now I know I can’t race him.”
“This race was very important to me. My time in Berlin last year gave me a lot of confidence and motivation.
“I’m sorry to disappoint my fans, the organizers and my fellow competitors.
“I will take some time to recover and get back in shape, and I hope to return to London next year.”
Bekele admitted this week that he ran into trouble trying to run in the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, the latest carbon-fiber-plated sneaker released by the sports company.
“Several times I had some minor injuries, like a muscle strain, because the shoe is not stable underfoot,” Bekele said.
“It’s really shapeless. It’s really smooth. The muscle needs to adapt to the movement under it. It’s really hard.”
