Mondo Duplantis withdrew from the London Diamond League after a recurrence of a leg problem which has troubled him in the latter half of this season, raising concerns over his fitness ahead of the the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships.
The Swede pulled out of the London Diamond League in July with a minor leg injury and the same issue bothered him in last week’s meet in Zurich.
It continued to trouble him again in the season-ending meet in Brussels, leading to doubts over whether he will be fit enough for the new Ultimate Championships in Budapest next week.
He addressed the crowd in Brussels before the competition on Friday and said: “I pushed through it, probably a little bit too much. I said that if I felt this irritation during my warm-up, I wasn’t going to jump. Therefore, I made the difficult decision not to start.
“The worst possible thing to do is having to pull out of a competition. My head is everywhere right now. It’s super difficult but that’s life, that’s the life of an athlete. I try to stay calm and positive.”
In his absence Emmanouil Karalis, Duplantis’ biggest rival, continued a superb end to his season as he eclipsed the Swede’s meeting record, jumping 6.12m to win the Diamond League crown.
The Ultimate Championships, which will also feature a high-profile clash between middle-distance stars Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, is set to be a star-studded end to the outdoor season.
A record $10m in prize money will be up for grabs, including $150,000 for each individual champion, the biggest reward for a meet in track and field history.
Duplantis said: “We will see if I can make it to the Ultimate Championships. I don’t have the answer right now.”
Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles pulled out of the Championships with injury, a blow to the nascent tournament, although he said he still planned to attend.
The American said: “Unfortunately, I come with some not great news. Me and my coach have decided that we’re going to end my 2026 season due to injury.
“It’s been kind of complicated. We thought it was very simple. Unfortunately, after running at USA’s [national championships] we found out that I had a small strain, not very serious, and the rehab that we were putting together was going extremely well.
“Unfortunately, because of the strain, it caused some other things to flare up, and it’s made it hard for me to continue practising.”
Lyles pulled up during the 200m final at US championships in July, later saying he had struggled with cramp.
He continued: “I am still going to be at Ultimate Championship. I still do have parties to throw and things to do behind the scenes to help support the athletes.
“I still think that this is going to be an amazing competition, and I’m excited to watch that. And I’m even more excited to see what the future is going to bring.”
