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Ohuruogu and Idowu pull out of Commonwealths

Christine Ohuruogu is the defending Commonwealth champion © Getty Images

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Christine Ohuruogu will not defend her Commonwealth 400m title after pulling out with a thigh injury, and her absence from the England squad will be amplified by that of Phillips Idowu.

Idowu, the defending Commonwealth triple jump champion, has revealed via his Twitter account that he will miss the Games due to the current safety concerns in India. A bridge connected to the Delhi stadium collapsed on Tuesday, and Idowu insists his family is his priority.

He said: "Sorry people, but I have children to think about. My safety is more important to them than a medal. I understand people will be disappointed that I will not be competing. I am disappointed.

"If you know me as an athlete you will know these games mean a lot to me. It's the champs in which I won my first medal. All the press today about bridges collapsing and 23+ people being hurt, floods and uninhabitable living conditions, getting my daughter ready for school this morning and seeing all of that put me off. I can't afford to risk my safety in the slightest."

Reigning Olympic champion Ohuruogu was on track to return to action in Delhi after missing the European Championships in Barcelona this summer, but felt a slight twinge in the muscle during training. With less than two weeks to go before the start of the Games, amid concerns over safety, Ohuruogu has decided not to risk further aggravating the injury and jeopardise the defence of her Olympic crown.

"With the 2012 Olympic Games on the horizon the last thing an athlete wants to do is risk re-injury to the same muscle," Ohuruogu said in a statement. "It was very important for me to be cautious in dealing with my previous injury; 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."

Ohuruogu, who completed a 12-month ban in 2007 for missing three out-of-competition drugs tests, plans to have a short break before returning to training next month ahead of the 2011 season.

England's medal hopes in the athletics stadium were hit by a triple blow after defending 1500m champion Lisa Dobriskey also pulled out on the advice of her medical team. Dobriskey recovered from a back injury to finish fourth in Barcelona, but has opted out of defending her 1500m title after a demanding summer.

"I was really looking forward to competing and I'd worked so hard to get back into shape," Dobriskey said. "I'm really disappointed but I just ran out of time. I want to wish all the best to the athletes out in Delhi."

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