Kenyan middle-distance star Faith Kipyegon has ended her season due to a hamstring injury and will miss next month's inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Hungary.
Kipyegon, a three-time Olympic and four-time world 1 500m champion, was expected to compete in the inaugural event, which will bring together about 400 elite athletes in Budapest from September 11-13.
"Since the end of May, I have been dealing with a hamstring injury, and unfortunately it needs a bit longer to recover than I had hoped", she posted on X.
"I will take the time to heal, recover and get stronger," she added.
The 32-year-old struggled to shake off the injury in two major races in July.
She finished third in the women’s mile in Eugene, Oregon, in early July, saying she was running at 98 per cent and hoped to regain full fitness before the end of the season.
Kipyegon then finished fourth in the women’s 3 000m at the Monaco Diamond League, where she set the world mile record in 2023.
All reigning Olympic and world champions, as well as Diamond League winners, will qualify for the Ultimate Championship, which offers a total prize purse of $10 million.