Greg Rutherford Withdraws from IAAF World Indoor Championships as He Continues to Recover from Surgery

By Adam Kopet

Reuters reports Greg Rutherford has withdrawn from this week's IAAF World Indoor Championships as he continues to recover from ankle and groin surgery.

The 2012 Olympic champion and 2015 World champion for Great Britain will now have missed his country's two home global championships in the past two years, having already missed the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London.

The IAAF World Indoor Championships are in Birmingham, U.K., beginning Thursday.

Rutherford has competed this year, including at the British Athletics Indoor Championships and the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix. However, he cited his form not improving enough to compete for a global medal as his reason to withdraw.

Instead, Rutherford will focus his efforts on the European Outdoor Championships in Berlin in August.