Washington (AFP) - Reigning world women's hammer throw champion DeAnna Price of the United States says she has contracted Covid-19 and will miss the World Athletics Championships that begin Friday.
The 29-year-old American announced in an Instagram posting that she would not go to Eugene, Oregon, to defend the crown she won in 2019 at Doha with an effort of 77.54 meters.
"It was a tough and heart breaking decision, but I felt like it was the right decision for myself both physically and mentally," Price wrote Saturday night.
Price underwent ankle reconstruction surgery last August and hip labrum surgery last September but recovered enough to finish fourth at last month's US championships and was preparing for the worlds as a defending champion when she became ill on July 1.
"I woke up with vomiting, diarrhea, and 103 fever," Price wrote."What we were hoping for a 24hr stomach bug turned into DAYS of being extremely sick and sleeping by the Toilet.It wasn’t till day 4 of my sickness that I lost my sense of smell, developed a cough, body aches and headache got worse.We took a test and discovered we got COVID.
"By this time I was down 12lbs and still couldn't eat anything other than chicken broth.We kept our hopes up during this times and tried to stay mentally strong."
When the final weekend before worlds arrived, Price realized her time to get into competitive condition had run out.
"Still feel weak and drained, physically and mentally," she wrote."I tried to throw to see where I was and I was no where close to where I felt like I needed to be competitive on a world stage, even in a qualifying round.
"I don't believe I would be able to bounce back by next week after how the illness affected me mixed with the limited training I've had this year.
"I'm gonna let myself be devastated for a couple days and then realign my thoughts for the long run!"
Price finished eighth at both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics.
