Top Kiwi shot putter and event favourite Tom Walsh has been forced to withdraw from The Big Shot event to be held in Christchurch this afternoon.
Mr Walsh suffered a hip injury in training yesterday, which has not responded to treatment well enough for him to risk competing.
"Im gutted that I can't take part in this event, I was really looking forward to it. It doesn't look like the injury is anything too serious but competing on it today could make it a lot worse and cause issues further down the track," he said.
Event organisers said they were supportive of Mr Walsh’s decision, and respected his need to withdraw.
"Tom’s big focus is the Olympic Games in Rio later this year, we certainly wouldn't put any pressure on him to compete if it might affect his ability to prepare for that," event director Paul Coughlan said.
"Naturally we’re disappointed, but these things happen in elite sport -- we're still looking forward to a great contest across all three main events, and we're sure that the crowd will be well entertained by what they see."
The contest now looks far more open with Walsh's long-time rival Jacko Gill against Australian champion Damien Birkinhead. Both young men were strong performers last year, advancing their personal bests to 20.75m and 20.40m respectively, and both will be looking to secure their positions in their national teams to go to Rio in August.
The day also features two Street Mile events through the central city, starting at 2pm. The Elite Women's race features Angie Petty, Lucy Oliver, and Rosa Flanagan against the two fast Australians Melissa Duncan and Genevieve Lacaze.
In the Elite Men's Street Mile, Olympic 1500m silver medallist Nick Willis and 800m specialist Brad Mathas will carry New Zealand hopes against the Australian duo of Ryan Gregson and Brett Robinson.
Newshib.
