Injury forces Farah out of London half marathon

LONDON - British Olympic champion Mo Farah has withdrawn from this year's London half marathon due to injury, organizers announced on Wednesday.

The 2020 London half marathon will be held on March 1. 36-year-old Farah, a two-time winner of the event, decided to withdraw from the meet after sustaining a minor Achilles injury in training.

"I was really looking forward to racing the Vitality Big Half again," said the four-time Olympic gold medal winner.

"Everyone knows how much I love racing in London, but my priority is to be fit, healthy and competitive for the summer season and for that reason I have had to make the tough decision not to race this year. I definitely hope to be back again in 2021."

Having switched from track events to the marathon in 2017, Farah announced last November that he would return to the track, aiming to defend his 10,000m title at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.