COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN DELHI
Phillips Idowu last night led a trio of England stars to quit the Commonwealth Games as the event in India lurched into deep crisis.
Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu and Lisa Dobriskey, who was due to defend her 1500m title, pulled out citing injuries.
But Idowu, the world and Commonwealth triple jump champion, was fit for battle.
He said on Twitter: "Sorry people but I have children to think about. My safety is more important to them than a medal."
It is a major U-turn for Idowu, who as recently as the weekend had declared his determination to compete.He apparently had a change of mind yesterday after Games organisers were slammed for conditions in the athletes' village which Scottish officials described as "unsafe and unfit for human habitation".Worse still, a pedestrian bridge collapsed near the main stadium, injuring 23 people, five critically.Ohuruogu, who felt a cramp during a training session last weekend and decided not to risk irritating her quad injury, said: "I'm disappointed to miss out. However, with the 2012 Olympic Games on the horizon the last thing an athlete wants to do is risk reinjury to the same muscle.
"It was very important for me to be cautious in dealing with my previous injury, and although training was progressing well, intense competition over three days may prove to be more harmful than good and may compromise the long-term functioning of the muscle.
"With three rounds in the 400m in Delhi I'd need to be close to my best to win gold.
"I had already picked up my team kit and was getting ready to go to the preparation camp in Doha. Instead I will have a short break now and resume winter training in October to get ready for the 2011 season."
Dobriskey, who missed the first part of the year with a back injury, claimed she was "really looking forward to competing" and said she had worked "so hard" to get back into shape.
"I'm really disappointed but I just ran out of time," she added. "I want to wish all the best to the athletes in Delhi."
Kelly Sotherton admits she is "relieved" to be m i s s i n g t h e Games. She won gold at the 2006 event in Melbourne but has struggled with a back injury this year so is not travelling to India. After hearing of the problems w h i c h a r e threatening the e v e n t , t h e heptathlete said yesterday: "I'm quite relieved that I'm not going."
On her Twitter account, the 33-year-old added: "It's enough to worry about performing but worrying where you sleep and walk is another thing."
Having previously lost Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah from their ever-diminishing athletics challenge, England's track hopes now rest with European hurdles champion Andy Turner.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for Sunday week, but water in the training and recreational swimming pools is said to be dirty, with insect larvae breeding on the surface.With building work way behind schedule, there have been worries stagnant puddles in construction sites will result in swarms of mosquitoes.Several of the accommodation towers where the athletes will stay are still unfinished, lacking facilities such as fitted toilets and plumbing.
GAMES TIME TABLE
October 3 Opening Ceremony
October 4 Swimming events start
October 5 Track cycling and boxing start
October 6 Athletics starts
October 11 Rugby Sevens start
October 13 Road cycling time trials
October 14 Marathon
October 14 Closing ceremony
